India@69: President Kovind bats for a cohesive India where you can disagree
Unveiling his vision of a tolerant and modern India, India’s President Ram Nath Kovind batted for right “to disagree with another viewpoint” in his Republic Day eve address and called for a robust nation-building process that would contribute of a “composite and cohesive world”.
Speaking on the eve of India’s 69th Republic Day, the president spoke about many facets of a nation – one of happy and equal-opportunity, innovation, civic-mindedness, selflessness, cultural vibrancy, discipline and moral uprightness – that together make up a “modern India that is both a land of talent – and a land of unlimited opportunities for that talent”.
In a veiled allusion to a raging controversy around the screening of the film Padmaavat which has triggered violence in parts of India, President Kovind underscored the need to maintain harmony through respect of one another’s viewpoint, as against the divisiveness that marks the society at present. “Where one can disagree with another viewpoint – or even with a historical context – without mocking a fellow citizen’s dignity and personal space. This is fraternity in action”, he said.