New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee yesterday said political discourse that “cuts and wounds” people’s hearts was “abhorrent” to India’s traditional ethos.
In his customary address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day, Mukherjee said: “The freedom inherent in democracy sometimes generates an unhappy by-product when political discourse becomes a competition in hysteria that is abhorrent to our traditional ethos.”
“The violence of the tongue cuts and wounds people’s hearts,” he added.
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he said: “Religion is a force for unity; we cannot make it a cause of conflict.”
Mukherjee once again objected to government enacting laws without discussion, saying that it impacts the law-making role of the parliament and breaches the trust reposed in it by the people.
“This is neither good for the democracy nor for the policies relating to those laws.”
Recently the president had raised strong objections to a string of ordinances - executive orders - passed by the union cabinet, including the one on the land acquisition act. a
While acknowledging that the constitution provided for promulgation of ordinance in extraordinary situation, Mukherjee had said this route cannot and should not be taken for normal legislation.
In his address, the president also stressed on the importance of the parliamentary process in making laws saying there can be no governance without a functioning legislature.
“The legislature reflects the will of the people. It is the platform where progressive legislation using civilized dialogue must create delivery mechanisms for realizing the aspirations of the people. It calls for reconciling the differences amongst stakeholders and building a consensus for the law to be enacted,” he said in his address that was aired in Doordarshan, the national broadcaster.
The aspect of women’s security also found mention in the president’s speech Sunday.
Mukherjee said: “...it pains me to see that Mother India is not respected by her own children when it comes to the safety of women.
“Atrocities of rape, murders, harassment on the roads, kidnapping and dowry deaths have made women fearful even in their own homes,” the president said, adding every Indian must take a pledge to protect the honour of women from violence of any kind.
Commenting on terrorism, the president said “violence is seeping across our borders”.
“While peace, non-violence and good neighbourly intentions should remain the fundamentals of our foreign policy, we cannot afford to be complacent about adversaries who will stop at nothing to disrupt our progress towards a prosperous and equitable India,” he added.
India has the strength, confidence and determination to defeat architects of this war against its people, he said.
“Repeated violations of the ceasefire along the Line of Control and terrorist attacks must get an integrated response through incisive diplomacy and impregnable security mechanisms. The world must join India in fighting the menace of terrorism,” he said.
The president also said that the results of last year’s general elections have been remarkable as people have voted a single party to power after three decades.
“The voter has played her part; it is now up to those who have been elected to honour this trust. It was a vote for clean, efficient, effective, gender-sensitive, transparent, accountable and citizen-friendly governance,” he added.
IANS
New Delhi: Seventeen people from other countries, including a few of Indian origin, are among 104 people chosen for the Padma awards.
Karim Al Hussiani Aga Khan of France has been conferred with the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award.
Manjul Bhargava, David Frawley, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates — all from the US — and Saichiro Misumi from Japan will receive the Padma Bhushan.
Jean-Claude Carriere and Jacques Blamont (France), Huang Baosheng (China), Nandrajan ‘Raj’ Chetty, George L. Hart, Tripti Mukherjee, Dattatreyudu Nori, Raghu Rama Pillarisetti (all from the US), Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda Maha Raja (Portugal), Saumitra Rawat (Britain) and Annette Schmiedchen (Germany) were named for the Padma Shri, a government statement said yesterday.
BJP leader L K Advani, , actors Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal were named for the Padma Vibhushan.
Also among the Padma Vibhushan awardees is senior nuclear scientist M R Srinivasan, 84, who had negotiated on behalf of India with Russia for supply of reactors for Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP).
Jagat Guru Ramanandacharya Swami Rambhadracharya and three other spiritual leaders, including an NRI in Portugal, were also conferred with Padma awards. Swami Rambhadracharya, from Uttar Pradesh, was among the nine awarded India’s second highest civilian honour, the Padam Vibhushan.
Swami Satyamitranand Giri from Uttar Pradesh, and Shivakumara Swami from Karnataka were among the 20 recipients of the Padma Bhushan, a home ministry release said.
Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda Maha Raja, who is based in Portugal, was among the 75 recipients of the Padma Shri award.
Former Asian Games gold medal-winning wrestler Satpal, who also coached inspirational Sushil Kumar, was named for the prestigious Padma Bhushan award, while national hockey team captain Sardar Singh and two-time badminton World Championships bronze medallist P V Sinhdu were among the five sportspersons chosen for this year’s Padma Shri awards.
Former women’s hockey captain Saba Anjum, Arunima Sinha — the first woman amputee mountaineer to climb Mount Everest in 2013 — and Indian women’s cricket team skipper Mithali Raj were the other sportspersons selected for this year’s Padma Shri awards.
Acclaimed filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and celebrated writer-lyricist and ad guru Prasoon Joshi were named for Padma Shri honour. They will receive the award for their contribution to art over the years.
A glance over Bhansali’s films showcases grandeur and originality and his knack of story telling. Be it his “Khamoshi: The Musical”, “Devdas”, “Black” or “Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela”, Bhansali has connected with the audience in a special way.
Joshi, whose lyrics echoes melody and originality, is known to juggle between the two worlds of advertising and Bollywood.
Other awardees in the Art category are — Kanyakumari Avasarala, Naresh Bedi, Rahul Jain, Ravindra Jain, Prafulla Kar, Tarak Mehta, Neil Herbert Nongkynrih, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Shekhar Sen, Mahesh Raj Soni and Tripti Mukherjee.
Late cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma, also known as Pran, has also been conferred the award posthumously.
IANS
