President Droupadi Murmu, in her maiden address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day, paid rich tributes to the makers of modern India who enabled each and every adult citizen to participate in the collective process of nation-building and “helped the world discover the true potential of democracy.”
"In most other well-established democracies, women had to wage long-drawn struggles to get the right to vote. But India adopted universal adult franchise right since the beginning of the Republic,” she explained.
The President also appreciated the contributions made by father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, during India's freedom struggle.
“The great Freedom Struggle and its leaders like Mahatma Gandhi re-discovered our ancient values for modern times. Then, it is no wonder our democracy has Indian characteristics. Gandhi ji advocated decentralisation and power to the people," she said.
The President said that Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav is dedicated to the people of India.
"For 75 weeks now, the nation has been commemorating these noble ideals that won us freedom. This grand festival is going ahead with the 'Har Ghar Tiranga Abhiyan'. The Indian tricolours are fluttering in every nook and corner of the country. Great brave hearts would have been thrilled to see the spirit of the Independence Movement coming alive again on such a massive scale."
She said, “The world has seen a new India rising in recent years, more so after the outbreak of COVID-19. Our response to the pandemic has been appreciated everywhere. We launched the biggest vaccination drive in human history with vaccines manufactured in the country itself.”
The pandemic has uprooted lives and also economies in the entire world. When the world has been battling the economic consequences of the great crisis, India got its act together and is now moving forward. India is among the fastest growing major economies in the world. India's start-up eco-system ranks high in the world, she added.
She said the success of start-ups in our country, especially the growing number of unicorns is a shining example of our industrial progress. The government and policy-makers deserve credit for beating the global trend and helping the economy flourish. During the last few years, unprecedented progress has been made in the development of physical and digital infrastructure.
Through the Pradhan Mantri Gati-Shakti Yojana, all the modes of connectivity based on water, land, air etc. are being integrated in the whole country to enable seamless transportation across the country, she added.
