Prez stresses on maintaining spirit of harmony, giving priority to deprived

INDEPENDENCE DAY EVE ADDRESS

NEW DELHI: 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 brotherhood.

In 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 India”.

“Each one of us is an equal citizen; each one of us has an equal opportunity, equal rights and equal duties in this land,” she said.

“But 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 said.

Underlining that the Constitution is the country’s guiding document, Murmu said its Preamble contains the ideals of the freedom struggle.

“Let us move forward with the spirit of harmony and brotherhood to realise the dreams of our nation-builders,” she said.

Recalling the role of women freedom fighters Matangini Hazra, Kanaklata Baruah, Kasturba Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu, Ammu Swaminathan, Rama Devi, Aruna Asaf-Ali and Sucheta Kriplani, the President said women are contributing extensively in every field of development and service to the country and are enhancing the nation’s pride.