A restorative speech by the First Citizen

President Ram Nath Kovind’s first address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day does much to offer citizens a sense of relief in these times of social turbulence, and a sense of hope and patriotic resolve without the smallest hint of partisanship. This is what the nation expects of the First Citizen.

There were multiple reminders in the address relating to the 69th Republic Day to the great value of the Constitution, and its relevance even in our times, and also to the monumental figure of Mahatma Gandhi and his work. President Kovind’s words need to be taken to all levels of society and treated as instruction by his government, which has generally remained mute in the face of rising public concerns caused by irresponsible utterances of some of its prominent figures.

Last June, dozens of retired civil servants, who once guided policy-making and implementation, had written an open letter, drawing attention to religious fanaticism, vigilantism and hyper-nationalism; and a month later one hundred armed forces veterans had addressed the Prime Minister and chief ministers to urge that the whole nation be treated as one “family”, an ethos that inspired the uniformed services in which they had served. President Kovind’s words on Republic Day-eve addressed these concerns of great sensitivity.

The President reminded us that with the adoption of the Constitution, which was a “scripture for social transformation”, the “ethic of equality” came to be coupled with liberty that had been won earlier, and also alluded to the third value of “fraternity” that was key to our well-being as a nation.

Mr Kovind also underlined the value of not inconveniencing our neighbours, and at all times the need to respect their right and privacy while celebrating a festival, resorting to a protest, or disagreeing with another viewpoint “even a historical context”.

This may be seen as a direction to state authorities to ensure peace and national calm even as sentiments are agitated in the context of freedom of expression for filmmakers and other disputes relating to the misuse of history for partisan ends, which has become pretty much the norm in recent times.

The President in his address was unambiguous in adverting to the need for “disciplined and morally upright institutions” in the process of nation-building. This is a hint to our legislatures and our judiciary, where strains have lately shown up with suspicions that it may be coming under the shadow of an unfettered executive.

Mr Kovind has also done well to remind the country of creating a republic to nourish innovative children and confident and forward-looking young people with the help of enhancing the quality of health and education, and ensuring for girls same rights and access to these resources as others. This has been a restorative speech.