I-Day eve address: Prez Murmu stresses on maintaining spirit of harmony

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday said that despite having diverse identities all Indians are equal citizens with equal opportunities rights and duties and urged the people to move forward with the spirit of harmony and brotherhoodIn her address to the nation on the eve of 77th Independence Day the President said each Indian has many identities but apart from caste creed language region family and profession there is one identity that is above all as the citizen of IndiaEach one of us is an equal citizen each one of us has an equal opportunity equal rights and equal duties in this land she saidBut it was not always so India is the mother of democracy and since ancient times we had democratic institutions functioning at the grassroots But long years of colonial rule wiped them out On 15th August 1947 the nation woke up to a new dawn We not only won freedom from foreign rule but also the freedom to rewrite our destiny she saidUnderlining that the Constitution is the countrys guiding document Murmu said its Preamble contains the ideals of the freedom struggleLet us move forward with the spirit of harmony and brotherhood to realise the dreams of our nationbuilders she saidRecalling the role of women freedom fighters Matangini Hazra Kanaklata Baruah Kasturba Gandhi Sarojini Naidu Ammu Swaminathan Rama Devi Aruna AsafAli and Sucheta Kriplani the President said women are contributing extensively in every field of development and service to the country and are enhancing the nations prideToday our women have made their special place in many such fields in which their participation was unimaginable a few decades ago she saidMurmu said the economic empowerment of women is being given special focus in the countryEconomic empowerment strengthens the position of women in the family and society I urge all fellow citizens to give priority to women empowermentI would like our sisters and daughters to overcome challenges with courage and move ahead in life Development of women was among the ideals of our freedom struggle she saidThe President also called for urgent attention of scientists and policymakers towards climate change and global warming which is resulting in frequent floods of drought situations saying the culture of greed is taking the world away from natureMurmu highlighted Indias presidency at the G20 summit this year and said the grouping represents twothirds of the world and India can nudge decisionmaking in trade and finance towards equitable progressBeyond trade and finance matters of human development too are on the agenda There are many global issues that concern all humanity and are not limited by geographical boundariesI am confident that with Indias proven leadership in dealing with global issues member nations will be able to advance effective action on these fronts the President saidThe President said she has observed a new confidence in the India story India is playing a crucial role in promoting developmental and humanitarian goals around the worldMurmu said the world economy is passing through a delicate stage as the pandemic has been followed by international events that have added to the air of uncertaintyYet the government has been able to navigate the stormy waters very well India has converted challenges into opportunities and has recorded high GDP growth Our annadata farmers have contributed significantly to our economic growth The nation feels indebted to them she saidThe President said global inflation remains a cause for worry but in India the government and the Reserve Bank have managed to contain itThe government has succeeded in protecting the common people from high inflation while also providing a more extensive security cover to the poor The world looks up to India for global economic growth she saidThe President lauded the twopronged strategy of the government sustained push to enterprise and proactive and expanded welfare initiatives for the needy which is driving the economic progress of the countryGiving priority to the deprived remains the focus of our policies and actions that have lifted a large number of people out of poverty in the last decade she saidMurmu who is the first tribal woman to become the President appealed to tribal brothers and sisters to enrich their traditions while embracing modernityShe said there are specific programmes to improve the conditions of tribals that encourage them to join the journey of progressThe President also highlighted that the National Education Policy of 2020 has started making a differenceFrom my interactions with students as well as educationists at various levels I gather that the learning process has become more flexibleThe visionary policy which aims to merge ancient values with modern skills will bring in unprecedented changes in the education sector over the years leading to a great transformation of the nation she saidAppreciating recent projects of India in space research she referred to ISROs moon mission Chandrayaan3 its lander Vikram and rover Pragyan which are slated to land on the moon in the next few days and said the mission to the moon is only a stepping stone for our future space programmesWe have to go far ahead she saidMurmu said to foster the spirit of research innovation and entrepreneurship the Government is setting up the Anusandhan National Research Foundation with an amount of Rs 50000 crore for the next five yearsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever