Indian marks 66th Republic Day in Accra

The 66th Republic Day of India was marked at a colourful event in Accra yesterday.

The ceremony, organised by the Indian High Commission, was attended by Members of the Diplomatic Corps, government officials, as well as Indians resident in the country.

It featured cultural displays, dance and music by the Indian community in Ghana and nationals from other countries.

India gained independence on August 15, 1947 and attained Republican status in 1950.

In a message read on his behalf by the Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr Birender Singh Yadav,  the President of India, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, called on all Indians - both home and abroad - to learn to adjust their sails quickly and deftly to winds of change that had brought India thus far and would take the country further ahead.

After attaining independence and achieving a Republican status, President  Mukherjee said: “We promised to promote fraternity, dignity of the individual and unity and interiority of the nation and on that day, we became the largest democracy of the world,” he said.

He indicated that the faith and commitment of the people gave life to the constitution and the founding fathers carefully and wisely steered the new nation past its troubles of being a poor economy with huge regional imbalances and a vast citizenry deprived of even basic necessities.

Strong institutions

The President said the achievements of India were attributable to the strong institutions built by the founding fathers, that for the last six and a half decades, the country’s democracy had been the oasis of stability in a region troubled by unrest.

He said from a population of 360 million in 1951, India currently had a population of 1.3 billion, with a per capita income which had shown a tenfold increase, poverty ratio had also declined by two-thirds, average life expectancy had more than doubled and literacy rate had shown a fourfold increase.

He said today, India’s economy was the fastest-growing among the major economies of the world, the second largest reservoir of scientific and technical manpower, the third largest army, thinnest member of the nuclear club and the 10th largest industrial power.

Leading exporter

President Mukherjee said from a net food grains importing country, India was now a leading exporter of food commodities and the journey so far had been eventful, sometimes painful but mostly exhilarating.

He said India’s economy had been performing well despite the challenging global economic conditions, as in the first half of 2016 -17, it grew at a rate of 7.2 per cent, same as last year, showing sustained recovery.

“As our Republic enters its 66th year, we must acknowledge that our systems are not perfect and the imperfections had to be recognised and rectified and the settled complacencies have to be questioned and the edifice of trust has to be strengthened,” he said.

Electoral reforms

President Mukherjee said the time was also ripe for a constructive debate on electoral reforms and return to the practice of early decades after independence when elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies were held simultaneously.

He said in a fiercely competitive world there was the need to work harder than ever to redeem the promises that were made to the people because the war on poverty was not yet over and the economy was yet to grow to make a significant dent on poverty.

He said it was his firm conviction that India’s pluralism and social, cultural, linguistic and religious diversity were its greatest strengths.

“These values must reside in the hearts and minds of every Indian, inculcating in them a temperament of understanding and responsibility,” he said.