Independence Day: President Murmu addresses nation, says India on its way to become self-reliant

President Droupadi Murmu addressed the nation on the eve of Independence Day on Thursday and said that India is well on its way to becoming a self-reliant nation. She said that by celebrating the day, the nation will pay tribute to the freedom fighters whose sacrifices won India its independence from British rule.

"The fifteenth of August is a date etched in our collective memory. During the long years of colonial rule, generations of Indians dreamt of the day of Independence. Men and women, old and young, from all parts of the country, yearned to throw away the yoke of foreign rule. Their struggle was marked by robust optimism, which has continued to propel our progress since Independence, too. As we salute the Tricolour tomorrow, we will also be paying homage to the memory of all freedom fighters whose sacrifices won India Independence on the 15th of August, 78 years ago," she said.

She said India's four main Constitutional values – justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity – were discovered during the freedom struggle.

"Our Constitution contains four values as the four pillars upholding our democracy. They are justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity. These are our civilisational principles that we rediscovered during the freedom struggle. At the heart of them all, I believe, is the notion of human dignity. Every human being is equal, and everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. Everyone should have equal access to healthcare and education. Everyone should have equal opportunity. Those who had been traditionally at a disadvantage needed to be given a helping hand. Keeping these principles foremost in mind, we started a new journey in 1947," she said.

President Murmu also paid tribute to the victims of the Partition, which she called a mistake of history.

"As we look back on the past, we must never forget the pain inflicted by the partition of the country. Today, we observed Partition Horrors Remembrance Day. Terrible violence was witnessed due to partition, and lakhs of people were forced to relocate. Today, we pay tributes to those who were victims of the mistakes of history," she said.

She called the Pahalgam terror attack "cowardly and utterly inhuman" and lauded Operation Sindoor, India's response to the attack.

"Operation Sindoor showed that our armed forces are prepared to meet any eventuality when it comes to guarding the nation," she added.

She said that the Indian military's Operation Sindoor will go down in history as an example of humanity's fight against terrorism.

She also touched upon artificial intelligence and the role of technology in society.

"In this Digital Age, it is apt that one sector in India that has seen the most dramatic advances is information technology. Nearly all villages have 4G mobile connectivity, and the remaining few thousand will be covered soon. This has made possible the large-scale adoption of digital payment technologies, in which India has become a world leader in a short span," she said.

"Artificial intelligence is the next stage of technological advancement and has already entered our lives. The government has launched the India-AI mission to strengthen the country’s AI capabilities," she added.