India Celebrates 65 Years of Independence With Zeal and Enthusiasm

India turned 65

New-Delhi: Amid high security the whole country of India On Monday celebrated its 65 year of independence with zeal and enthusiasm.

Early in the morning the prime minister of India Manmohan Singh marked the celebrations by hosting the flag at the historic Red fort in Delhi. In other sates flag hosting also took place, done by the respective Chief Ministers was followed by the cultural events and other functions.

Through out the country security was already beefed up .In the national capital New Delhi Heavily armed Security forces backed by sniper commandoes kept a close vigil to prevent any possible terrorist attack on the occasion.

According to a media report Around 40 CCTVs were installed in and around the Red Fort.

“Elaborate security arrangements have been made. Personnel from Delhi Police and paramilitary have been deployed for security,” the media reports quoted senior police officer, as saying.

The Prime Minister of India who addressed the nation on the occasion from the Red Fort in which he vowed to take strong steps to eradicate corruption from the country-

Speech of Indian prime Minster Manmohan Singh:

On Corruption:

“We want a strong Lokpal to prevent corruption in high places. We have recently introduced a Bill in Parliament to achieve this. Now only Parliament can decide what type of Lokpal legislation should be enacted. I am aware of the differences of opinion on some aspects of the Bill. Those who don’t agree with this Bill can put forward their views to Parliament, political parties and even the press. However, I also believe that they should not resort to hunger strikes and fasts unto death”.

On Agriculture:

I congratulate the country’s farmers for their achievements this year. The production of foodgrains has been at a record level. Wheat, maize, pulses and oilseeds have all seen record levels of production. It is because of the hard work of our farmers that today there are proposals for export of foodgrains, sugar and cotton.

We need a second Green Revolution in agriculture. We can tackle the problem of rising food prices only by increasing agricultural production and productivity. We also need to increase agricultural production to implement a food security law. We will accelerate our efforts in this direction in the 12th Plan.

Today, I wish to assure our farmer brothers and sisters, particularly those who are small and marginal, that we will continue to take care of their special needs. It will be our endeavour to ensure that our farmers have easy access to fertilizers, seeds and credit. We also want to provide the best possible irrigation facilities to the farmers so that their dependence on rains is reduced.

On Education:

We are satisfied with our achievements in the last seven years in the areas of education and health. Whether it is elementary education, secondary education or higher education we have taken concrete steps for improvements at all levels. This has shown good results. In the last few years, fundamental changes have taken place in the area of education. Today every citizen has a right to elementary education. We are now considering universalization of secondary education. Vocational education and skill development have acquired a new importance. In view of these major changes, it is necessary that we consider all aspects of education in a comprehensive manner. Therefore we have decided to appoint an education commission to make recommendations for improvements at all levels of education.

On Terrorism

“Last month’s terrorists attacks in Mumbai warn us that there cannot be any slip up in our vigilance as far as the fight against terrorism is concerned. This is a long battle to be fought jointly by the Central Government, the State Governments and the common man. We have been steadily strengthening our intelligence and security agencies and will continue to do so in the future also.

We are also taking all possible steps to overcome the challenge of naxalism. We want to eradicate the very reasons which give rise to this problem. Therefore we have started a new scheme for the accelerated development of 60 backward and tribal dominated districts. An amount of Rs. 3300 crore will be spent on this scheme in a period of two years”.

On Environment:

Preserving our environment even as we develop rapidly is a huge challenge for us. Climate change poses a threat to both our development processes and our natural resources. We have established eight missions on climate change and are working hard to implement these missions. We have set up the National Ganga River Basin Authority for the protection and cleaning of river Ganga. We have also established the National Green Tribunal for quick disposal of cases involving environmental issues. In the coming months, we will constitute an environmental assessment and monitoring authority to streamline the process of environmental clearances.

Adil Akhzer is a young Journalist and editor, based in Srinagar India. Adil writes stories about items of interest in New Delhi and Kashmir.