India marks Day

Page 5
19-08-08

THE President of India, Mr Pratibha Devisingh Patil, has underscored the determination of the country to engage the international community to promote peace and development in the world.
According to him, India would continue to carry into the global arena the message of harmony, pluralism, peaceful co-existance and oneness of human race which were deeply rooted in their national ethos.
“As the world’s largest democracy and a major economy, our role in global political and economic affairs has been responsible and possible.
It is our view that multilateral institutions should be made more equitable and reflect comtemporary realities,” Mr Patil said this in an address read on his behalf by the Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, Mrs Ruchi Ghanashyam, on the eve of the country’s 62nd independence day celebration on Thursday in Accra.
He said India’s Constitution provided Indians with strong pillars of stability and gave citizens their fundamental rights and freedom.
“Often, we are vocal about our rights but we tend to focus less on our numerous duties. We have duties towards the country, society and family, of which we can ignore none,” he said, adding that “we must remember that while discharging our duties, we have an obligation to act responsibily”.
President Patil said great nations were built with the contributions and hard work of one and all, and that violence undermined progress.
He said there had been instances in the country of people taking the law into their own hands, causing destruction to life and public property, and that “whatever the problem, whatever the cause, whatever the reason, there is no place for violence in our society”.
Addressing the needs of the underprivileged and weaker sections of the society, he said, would make the country’s growth process more stable and equitable.
“Gandhiji gave us an unfalling criteria and a sure test for determining the soundness of our actions. He said that when in doubt, recall the face of the poorest and weakest person whom you have seen and ask if the step you are contemplating is going to be of any use to him,” he stated.
President Patil indicated that it was when Indians worked unitedly that they would realise their full strength and potential, saying that India was a conglomeration of a diversity of cultures, languages and religions which had given Indians resilience and strength.
At the time of independence, he said, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru spoke about Indian as a “rising star, the star of freedom in the East”, and “reminded us that freedom would bring responsibilities and burdens, and that we must face them in the spirit of a free and disciplined people”.
He called on Indians to stand united against the threats emanating from terrorism.