"My dear countrymen, brothers, sisters and dear children.
Today we celebrate the 60th anniversary of our Independence. My greetings to you all on this day of national celebration.
Today we take special pride in saluting our beloved tricolor. Let us recall with pride the great sacrifice of our freedom fighters, whose undying love for India secured us our freedom.
On this happy occasion join me in saluting the hard work of all our citizens who have, over these 60 years, helped build a new India. Let us bow our head in memory of all those brave jawans and all our brave citizens who have sacrificed their lives for the cause of our unity, integrity and progress.
Sixty years ago the people of India began a new journey as a free nation, inspired by the message and vision of Mahatma Gandhi. But Gandhiji’s dream of a free India would only be fully realized when we banish poverty from our midst.
An India that is united despite its many diversities.
An India that is not divided by caste, creed or gender.
An India in which the creativity and enterprise of every citizen can find its full and free expression.
We need to do much more to generate and distribute more power, more efficiently. Everyone should get good quality power at affordable prices. I appeal to state governments to take this matter seriously as a weak power situation can become a handicap in industrialization and job-creation.
This vision of India is our proud inheritance from our national movement. We are committed to fully realizing it. We have worked hard to translate this vision into reality, through legislative action, new programmes and new policies. Towards this end we have vastly increased fiscal support to social and human development.
Today, when I look back, I can say with some satisfaction that we are undoubtedly moving forward in the right direction. We have been slow in taking some steps; we have dithered at times, and stumbled some times. We have had success on some fronts, and setbacks on some others.
India wants to have good relations with all the countries of the world. Big and small. Countries of the East and the West, the North and the South. Today, we enjoy good relations with all major powers and all developing countries. We have emerged as a bridge between the many extremes of the world. Our composite culture is living proof of the possibility of a confluence of civilizations. India will always be a nation bridging the many global divides.
I also want our young people to actively associate themselves with a “National Campaign for Cleanliness” in our neighbourhoods, in public places and markets, in villages and slums. Let us all take that one extra step to ensure that we live in clean and healthy surroundings. Each one of us can make a difference by practicing what we preach. As Gandhiji used to say, we must be the change we want to see.
India wants to live in a neighbourhood of peace and prosperity. I assure all our neighbours that we in India want peace and the best of relations with all of them. I sincerely believe that in the prosperity and well-being of our neighbours lies the key to our own security and progress.
We are a young nation. More importantly, we are a nation of young people. Once unleashed, the energy of our youth will drive India onto a new growth path. I assure you that for each one of you, and for our country, the best is yet to come.
We must have faith in our strength and confidence in our capabilities. Each of us have our individual identities. However, every citizen must recognize that we are Indians first and last. We fritter away our time on petty issues and pointless personal differences. I urge all political parties, all political and social leaders to resist the temptation to divide people along narrow, sectarian lines. Our strength is in our unity, despite our diversity. It is that unity which gave us our Independence. It is that unity that gives us our strength as a nation.
This was the dream of our founding fathers. This was the vision of our Constitution. We should not move away from this vision, and must face the future with courage. However, as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said from these ramparts nearly sixty years ago, “laws and constitutions do not by themselves make a country great. It is the enthusiasm, energy and constant effort of a people that make it a great nation.”
Let us all come together and work resolutely for the welfare of our people and for the development of our nation.
Jai Hind!”
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