Towards a better tomorrow!
Dear Friends,
My heartfelt greetings and salutations to all of you on the special occasion of Independence Day. I would also like to convey my wishes to the Indian community settled all over the world on this historic day.
There are a large number of people today who have not seen the Freedom Struggle closely either because they were born after 1947 or they were too young during those times. I am one of them. But, when I hear the accounts of the courage shown by our freedom fighters, I am overcome by a sense of pride and responsibility. Today, we do not have the honour of dying to free our nation but we have the golden opportunity to live for it and to see it transformed in a manner that it fulfills the dreams of our forefathers. Today we pay our tributes to each and every one of these heroes who sacrificed their lives for the nation’s freedom with a resolve that their sacrifices for our motherland will not go in vain.
The state of our economy is no source of comfort either with the constantly rising prices. The Rupee is breaking its own records against the Dollar. Does all this help the poor or the neo middle class, who have high expectations for a better tomorrow? Does our youth have adequate jobs? This is truly a very turbulent phase in the history of our nation and the atmosphere is that of deep mistrust, gloom and pessimism. And in times like these, we need be to most vigilant against those who promised the moon but have been unable to deliver anything. Tokenism filled acts are not the solution to the problems we face - it is time for action!
For 65 years, there have been enough divisions that have bogged us down. It is time to rise above such divisions and reject forces inimical to progress of people, especially the poorest of the poor. As I had said at the public meeting in Hyderabad recently, a Government has only one religion and that is India First and it has only one holy book and that is the Indian Constitution! The only Bhakti it must be immersed in is Bharat Bhakti and Jan Shakti is the only Shakti it possesses. The sole ritual of the Government must be the well being of 125 crore Indians and the code of conduct must be ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. That is when we will fulfill the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda and Sardar Patel.
Our work did not stop with attaining Swarajya on 15th August 1947. The more difficult part of our journey still remains and it is the attaining of Surajya. Let each of us become the torchbearers of a grand mass movement to bring Surajya. And as citizens of a vibrant and liberal democracy, the power of franchise is the strongest way towards commencing this movement to attain Surajya. This responsibility begins with Registering as voters. I strongly urge my young friends to register themselves as voters and encourage atleast 10 others around them to register as voters as well be it their families, friends, neighbours etc. Let us ensure there is no university student who is not a registered voter! Infact, we should be as proud of being registered voters as we are of being citizens of this great nation.
I will end with a prayer for all the valiant Navy personnel we lost in the unfortunate tragedy on board INS Sindhurakshak. My deepest condolences to their families. May their souls rest in peace.
Once again, I convey my greetings on the occasion of Independence Day. May our country scale newer heights of progress in the years to come. I am also sharing a video of my Independence Day message and a video on the need for high voter registration.
Vande Mataram! Jai Hind.
Narendra Modi
