In his televised speech to the nation on the eve of India’s 74th Independence Day, the President of India H.E.Ram Nath Kovind said the country is deeply indebted to all the frontline workers who are helping tackle the coronavirus pandemic. “This year’s Independence Day celebrations will be restrained as the deadly virus has disrupted all activities and taken a huge human toll.
“It was a superhuman effort on the part of the government to respond effectively in meeting the challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic. With these efforts, we have gained control over the global epidemic and have succeeded in saving a large number of people’s lives, setting an example for the whole world.
“The nation is indebted to all the doctors, nurses and other health workers who have been frontline warriors in this fight against the coronavirus. “All these warriors rose above the limits of their duty, saved lives and ensured availability of essential services,” said the president in his speech.
He added that the pandemic has taught “tough lessons” of life and “demolished the illusion that human beings are the masters of nature.” He appealed to humanity to “correct its course and live in harmony with nature” and said the crisis offered opportunities for economic revival. He pointed out that India has been at the forefront in evolving regional and global strategies for an effective response to the Covid pandemic.
The pandemic, like climate change, has awakened the global community to our shared destiny, said the president as he saw more importance in ‘human-centric collaboration’ than ‘economy-centric inclusion’. He also appealed to rise above all man-made differences, strengthen virtue in conduct, expand public health infrastructure and accelerate developments in science and technology—a reminder on how India built covid-related medical items such as ventilators or PPE kits almost from scratch and is now able to even export to other countries.
He also spoke about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for self-reliance in view of the global pandemic, and added that India’s tradition has always been not to live for ourselves, “but work for the well-being of the entire world”. India will continue to engage with the world economy while maintaining its identity, said the president, adding, “India’s self-reliance means being self-sufficient without alienating or creating distance from the world.
The President also paid tribute to the 20 Indian soldiers who were killed in June during a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley. “Those worthy sons of Bharat Mata lived and died for national pride. The entire nation salutes the martyrs of Galwan Valley,” said the president.
He slammed China’s “misadventure of expansion” at a time when the world needs to come together to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which he termed the “greatest challenge before humanity”. He warned the belligerent neighbor that India is “capable of giving a befitting response to any attempt of aggression”.