President Draupadi Murmu said on Wednesday that India has become the fifth largest economy of the world and we are ready to get a place in the top three economies of the world. She also called for rejecting the tendencies that promote discord on the basis of perceived social levels in India. Along with this, she said that India wants to use its influential position to expand world peace and prosperity. In her message to the nation on the eve of 78th Independence Day, the President attributed this success to the hard work of farmers and workers and the far-sighted thinking of entrepreneurs as well as the visionary leadership of the country.
He said that India’s stature has risen in the global arena on the strength of the rapid ‘justice-oriented progress’ and after successfully completing its presidency of the G20, it has strengthened its role as a country giving a vocal expression to the ‘Global South’. Quoting the words of Constitution maker Baba Saheb Ambedkar, the President said that we should also make our political democracy a social democracy and political democracy cannot survive unless there is social democracy at its base. He said, “The continuous progress of political democracy confirms the progress made towards strengthening social democracy. The spirit of inclusion is visible in every aspect of our social life. With our diversities and multiplicities, we are moving forward as a nation, united, together.”
Emphasising on strengthening affirmative action as a tool for inclusion, the President said, “I firmly believe that in a large country like India, tendencies that foster divisions on the basis of perceived social strata must be rejected.” Noting that India has become the fifth largest economy in the world, the President said the country is poised to soon be among the top three economies of the world. “This success has been possible due to the untiring hard work of farmers and workers, farsightedness of policy-makers and entrepreneurs and the visionary leadership of the country,” he said.
Greeting the countrymen on the 78th Independence Day, the President remembered Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Babasaheb Ambedkar and many great leaders like Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad. Recalling freedom fighters like Tilka Manjhi, Birsa Munda, Laxman Nayak and Phool-Jhano, he said that it was a nationwide movement in which all communities participated. He said, “We are celebrating the 75th anniversary of our Constitution. There have been serious obstacles in the journey of our newly independent nation. Remaining firm on the constitutional ideals of justice, equality, liberty and fraternity, we are moving forward with this campaign that India regains its glorious place on the world stage.” The President also mentioned the 2024 general elections and said that about 97 crore voters participated in it. He described it as a ‘historic record’ and said that such a large number of people exercising their franchise is actually a strong support to the ideology of democracy. He said, “India’s successful conduct of elections gives strength to democratic forces across the world.”
