Updated: August 15, 2014 02:30 IST
Amit Baruah
PTI“Those who believe in the poison drip of inflammatory provocation do not understand
India’s values or even its present political impulses," President Pranab Mukherjee said
in his address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day in New Delhi on Thursday.
In his customary Independence Day-eve address, the President wondered whether Indian democracy had become too noisy and should not Parliament again become the great hall for sombre thought.
The Constitution was becoming “increasingly vulnerable” to rash excess while institutional dysfunction led to the “phenomenon of overreach,” President Pranab Mukherjee warned on Thursday.
His comments came on a day when Parliament passed two key Bills that allow for fundamental changes in the method of appointing judges to the higher judiciary.
In his customary Independence Day-eve address, the President wondered whether Indian democracy had become too noisy and should not Parliament again become the great hall for sombre thought.
Pointing to institutional decay, Mr. Mukherjee said, “Should not our courts of law become temples of justice? This calls for collective action by all the stakeholders.”
Welcoming the emergence of a stable government with a clear majority for the first time after three decades, the President said the country demanded fast-track development with social harmony.
Dwelling on institutional dysfunction, Mr. Mukherjee stressed that while new institutions might become necessary, the real solution lay in re-inventing existing ones.
The President felt the economy was all set to grow at seven to eight per cent as signs of revival were visible. “However, food prices still remain a matter of serious concern.”
Warns of blowback from abroad
He warned that “intolerance and violence” were a betrayal of the letter and spirit of our democracy.
“Those who believe in the poison drip of inflammatory provocation do not understand India’s values or even its present political impulses,” the President stated.
Indians, he said, knew that progress was difficult without economic or social progress.
Pointing to the turbulent international environment at a time when the country was focused inwards, the President was frank about the dangers in the region and beyond of the ongoing unprecedented turmoil.
“Across parts of Asia and Africa, attempts are being made by radical militias to redraw the maps of nations to create a geography of theocratic ideology,” he said.
“India will feel the heat of blowback, particularly as it represents the values that reject extremism in all its manifestations…we must defend our secular fabric with vigour,” the President stressed.
In words of advice for the Government, the former Defence, Home, External Affairs and Finance Minister said India’s security and foreign policies must combine the “steel of strength with the velvet of diplomacy”.
India, he was of the opinion, must engage in the task of persuading the like-minded as well as the hesitant to recognise the substantial sangers that breed within indifference.
“Our Constitution is a consequence of our democratic culture, which reflects our ancient values. It pains me to note that this great national asset is becoming increasingly vulnerable to rash excess,” he stated.
“Have we lost the art of contemplation and calm thinking? Is it not time to restore the grandeur and glory of our institutions that have sustained and nourished our beautiful democracy?” .
Source: The Hindu
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