NEW DELHI: Social, religious and literary icons of poll-bound states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Kerala received special mention in President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday.
At the outset of her 62-minute speech, Murmu said India is now celebrating 150 years of Vande Mataram and people of the country are paying homage to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who wrote the national song, for this profound source of inspiration.
"I congratulate the Honourable Members that a special discussion in Parliament was organised on this auspicious occasion," she said.
On another occasion, the President invoked Nobel laureate and literary icon from West Bengal, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and said that he had opined that freedom remains incomplete without a life of self-reliance.
"My government is taking continuous and concrete steps towards making India self-reliant. Today, products made with the vision of 'Make in India' are reaching various global markets. There is also great enthusiasm among the citizens for 'Swadeshi'," she said.
Explaining the importance of agriculture in her address, Murmu said Sant Thiruvalluvar, a revered Tamil poet-saint and philosopher, had said that irrespective of their vocations in society, the life of every individual is dependent on the arduous labour of a hard-working farmer.
"In view of this, for my government, a prosperous farmer is its first priority for Viksit Bharat. With this spirit, the government launched a scheme like PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. Under this scheme, over 4 lakh crore rupees have been directly transferred to their bank accounts, so far," she said.
Thiruvalluvar is known for authoring Thirukkural, a classical Tamil text on ethics, governance and other subjects written over 2000 years ago.
Talking about the development initiatives taken in the Northeast by the central government, the President, in her address, referred to Assam's 15th-16th century socio-religious, cultural and literary icon Srimanta Sankardev.
"Now, the Northeastern region is also integrating with the mainstream of development. Assam, in the northeastern region, is the land of great icons like Srimanta Sankardev. Soon, a semiconductor chip manufactured in Assam will become a lifeline for electronic products worldwide," she said.
Murmu also spoke of another iconic figure from Assam, Bhupen Hazarika, who was bestowed with Bharat Ratna by the Modi government in 2019.
"All citizens also witnessed that the birth centenary celebrations of Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika were imbued with melodies and the spirit of national unity.
"When the citizens recall such great milestones of their glorious past and the remarkable contributions of their ancestors, it inspires the new generation. This inspiration further accelerates the nation's journey towards 'Viksit Bharat'," she said.
In her address, the president also invoked Kerala's renowned saint, philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer Sree Narayana Guru (1856-1928).
"Sree Narayana Guru, the great saint of Kerala, said: 'Acquire knowledge through education and become powerful through organisation'. Because, when a nation dreams, such dreams are envisioned by its youth only, and are also realised by those very youth," she said.
"You will be happy to know that in the electronics manufacturing sector alone, over 25 lakh new jobs have been created during the last 11 years. With the enabling policies of my government, many new sectors are also emerging in the country. New employment opportunities are being created in new areas like semiconductors, green energy, and green hydrogen," Murmu said.
Assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry are due in the coming months.
The President also referred to the commemoration of the 350th anniversary of martyrdom of the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, by the citizens of the country "with deep reverence", 150th birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, when the nation paid tributes to him and remembered the contributions of the tribal community, and the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, which she said, have strengthened the spirit of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat'.
On Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, Murmu said he always laid emphasis on equality and social justice.
"Our Constitution also inspires us in the same spirit. Social justice means every citizen gets to exercise full rights, and without any discrimination," she said.