Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

On July 24, Dr. Pranab Mukherjee adressed the wide nation of India for the last time as the President of India and graced the nation saying that the “soul of India resides in pluralism and tolerance”. He expressed his immense gratitude toward the citizens of the country for having trust and confidence in him. The Former President began saying, “For the past fifty years of my public life my sacred text has been the Constitution of India. My temple has been the Parliament of India and my passion has been the service of the people of India.” At the end of his speech, the prominent man as he is, he said that the next day when he will speak to people, it will be as any other citizen of the country. The 81 year-old has been serving the nation in many capacities like Union Finance Minister, Union Defence Minister, Minister of External Affairs and the 13th President of India.

In his warm words to the former President, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Under President Pranab Mukherjee, Rashtrapati Bhavan became a ‘Lok Bhavan’.” As of today, Ram Nath Kovind shall be taking the oath as the 14th President of India with the retirement of Dr. Pranab Mukherjee.

In the final word, the former head of the nation reflected, “5 years ago, when I took the oath of office of President, I promised to preserve, protect and defend our Constitution. Each day of these five years, I was conscious of my responsibility. How successful I was in discharging my responsibilities will be judged, over time, by the critical lens of history.”

He emphasized that for development to be real, the poorest of the land must feel that they are a part of the nation’s narrative. He narrated that the soul of India resides in pluralism and tolerance. Plurality of our society has come about through assimilation of ideas over centuries. The multiplicity in culture, faith and language is what makes India special. He stressed, “We derive our strength from tolerance; it has been part of our collective consciousness for centuries. There are divergent strands in public discourse; we may argue, we may agree or we may not agree. But we cannot deny the essential prevalence of multiplicity of opinion. Otherwise, a fundamental character of our thought process will wither away.”

Adding more to his precious words, he inspired that the capacity for compassion and empathy is the true foundation of our civilization. All citizens must free public discourse from all forms of violence, physical as well as verbal. Only a non-violent society can ensure the participation of all sections of the people in the democratic process. Power of non-violence has to be resurrected to build a compassionate and caring society.

While stating his views on education, Mukherjee said, “As I had said on assuming office of the President, education is the alchemy that can take India to its next golden age. A reordering of society is possible through the transformative power of education. Our universities should not be a place for rote-memorizing but an assembly of inquisitive minds. Creative thinking, innovation and scientific temper have to be promoted in our institutions of higher learning.”

Mukherjee, in his concern for future of the nation said, “For us, creation of an inclusive society has to be an article of faith. We must empower the poorest of the poor and ensure that the fruits of our policies reach the last person in the line. Eradication of poverty would provide a strong boost to happiness. Social inclusion would ensure access to the fruits of progress to all.”

Furthermore, he five years in Rashtrapati Bhavan, they tried to build a humane and happy township. They extended our experience to a few villages in the neighborhood. In his generous ordeal, he will today step down as the President of the nation and as he said, “When I speak to you tomorrow, it will be as a citizen- a pilgrim like all of you in India’s onward march towards glory.”

READ: President Kovind: A new hope to the swamped Indian Education

READ: Let’s make universities world-class, not world-minded, says Pres

By Rupal