President Ram Nath Kovind addressed the nation on Saturday on the eve of the 75th Independence Day.
He began his speech by paying homage to the "many generations of known and unknown freedom fighters" who lay down their lives for India's Independence.
"Our dream of freedom was realized through the struggle of many generations of known and unknown freedom fighters. All of them set unique examples of sacrifice. I pay my homage to the sacred memory of all those immortal fighters."President Ram Nath Kovind
He also praised Indian athletes for their stellar performance in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics.
"From the field of science to sports, our daughters are creating history everywhere. India's daughters did well in Tokyo Olympics... appreciate their resilience," President Kovind said.
"I urge every parent to take education from the families of promising daughters and provide opportunities to their daughters to grow."President Ram Nath Kovind
The President noted that owing to the ongoing pandemic, this year's Independence Day celebrations will be restricted.
While praising frontline workers, he offered his condolence to the families of people who lost their lives during the COVID second wave.
"I am pained that several people lost their lives during the second coronavirus wave. I want to tell their families that I am with them. We are winning over the second coronavirus wave because of our frontline workers."President Ram Nath Kovind
The President went on to highlight India’s COVID vaccination drive and urged all Indians to get vaccinated and motivate others to do the same.
Despite the hit to the economy, President Kovind said that growth in rural areas especially in agriculture has continued.
"With the many reforms made in agricultural marketing, our annadata farmers will be further empowered and they will get better prices for their products."President Ram Nath Kovind
He also spoke about the Central Vista project.
"Our democracy is based on the parliamentary system, so Parliament is the temple of our democracy. It is a matter of great pride that this temple of our democracy is going to be established in a new building in the near future," he said.
Ahead of his address, he hosted the Indian contingent of the Tokyo Olympics, 2020, over 'high tea’ at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre in New Delhi on Saturday.
The Indian contingent will interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well at the Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort in Delhi on 15 August.
An advisory regarding COVID-19 guidelines has been issued to all the diplomats, officials, members of the public and the media, who will be attending the ceremony.
To commemorate 75 years of India's Independence, an initiative called 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 12 March. He also flagged off a 'Dandi March' from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.
Teams of the Indian Army will scale 75 mountain passes, including Saserla Pass in the Ladakh region, Stakpochan Pass in the Kargil region, Satopanth, Harshil in Uttarakhand, Phim Karnla in Sikkim and Point 4493 in Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh, to mark the occasion.
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