Outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday said he firmly believes that India is getting equipped to make 21st century the century of India. In his address to the nation before demitting office, Kovind saluted the ‘power of vibrant democratic system’ of India and said staying connected to one’s roots is the specialty of Indian culture.
He referred to the National Education Policy and the renewed focus on healthcare which along with economic reforms will let citizens find the best course for their lives. At the same time, he drew on Bhimrao Ambedkar’s concluding remarks in the Constituent Assembly before the Constitution was adopted to sound a note of caution about the kind of democracy which the nation should pursue. India must not be content with mere political democracy as it cannot without social democracy.
Describing social democracy as a way of life which recognises the trinity of liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life, Kovind said neither should be treated as a separate item. “To divorce one from the other is to defeat the very purpose of democracy. The trinity of ideals must not be mistaken for abstractions. They are real; they can be realised,” he observed.
“Ram Nath Kovind, who grew up in a very ordinary family in Paraunkh village of Kanpur Dehat district, is addressing all of you countrymen today, for this, I salute the power of the vibrant democratic system of our country,” he said.
Mother nature is in deep agony and the climate crisis can endanger the very future of this planet, he appealed to all to protect the environment for the coming generations. President Kovind also hailed the trinity of ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity, saying they must not be mistaken as abstractions because they ”are lofty, noble and uplifting”.
“These principles of liberty, equality and fraternity are not to be treated as separate items in a trinity. They form a union of trinity in the sense that to divorce one from the other is to defeat the very purpose of democracy,” Kovind quoted Ambedkar as having said.
“Our history, not only of modern times but also from ancient times, reminds us that they are real; that they can be realised, and indeed have been realised in different eras”, he added.
