It's now over to Madam President

NEW DELHI: Pratibha Patil was on Wednesday sworn in as the first woman president of India at a grand ceremony in the Central Hall of Parliament.

Soon after the chief justice of India administered the oath of office to her, the new president called for an all-inclusive economic growth and underlined two themes that are central to the ruling coalition's political plank — the need for unity in the fight against divisive tendencies like communalism and the importance of the country’s secular democracy. She also stressed on the need to combat the challenges of casteism, extremism and terrorism.

Soon after she took oath in English and exchanged seats with outgoing President APJ Abdul Kalam, the customary 21-gun salute was accorded to her. The function was attended by the top government and political leadership of the nation, governors, chief ministers, MPs, other dignitaries and family members of Ms Patil.
Though Ms Patil was elected to the top post after a bitter campaign, the ceremony witnessed the gracious coming together of the ruling and Opposition sides.

While Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi were seated on the two central seats of the front row of audience, they were flanked by the senior UPA and Left leaders M Karunanidhi, Pranab Mukherjee, Arjun Singh, Lalu Prasad, Sharad Pawar, Sitaram Yechury, AB Bardhan and BSP leader Mayawati.

Former vice-president BS Shekhawat, who lost to Ms Patil, was also present in the front row along with former prime minister AB Vajpayee and BJP chief Rajnath Singh. Leader of the Opposition LK Advani, incidentally, was seen sitting in the fourth row, along with Jaswant Singh.

In her first official speech, delivered in English and then in Hindi, the 72-year-old president said India was at the threshold of a new era of progress as it was moving at historically unprecedented rates of growth which she feels should be to the benefit of all sections of society.

“It should be our combined endeavour to sustain this growth and ensure that it is socially inclusive. We must ensure that every section of our society — particularly the weak and the disadvantaged — are equal partners in and beneficiaries of the development process,” she said.

Underlining the need for providing people with the best governance, faster development and a life of peace and security, Ms Patil said, “We must all stand united in the fight against such divisive and destructive tendencies as communalism, casteism, extremism and terrorism.” She also expectedly touched upon the theme of empowerment of women, saying this would lead to empowerment of the nation itself. She made it a point to recall the brave battle waged against the British by Rani Lakshmibai, Begum Hazrat Mahal and Kitturu Rani Chennamma.

Ms Patil said she would like to see every person, man and woman, boy and girl, “be touched by the light of modern education” and called for efforts to banish malnutrition, social evils, infant mortality and female foeticide and pledged her commitment to the protection of child rights. She also highlighted the importance of science and technology “to help us develop a scientific temper that will unleash the full potential of our farmers, workers, professionals and entrepreneurs”.

Highlighting India’s wealth of young population, she said: “More than anything else, we have demonstrated to the world that a developing country of over a billion people, each aspiring for a better quality of life, can live harmoniously and move forward within the framework of secular democracy.”

If her predecessor Kalam was known for quoting Tamil poet Thirikkural in his speeches, Ms Patil quoted Marathi poet Sant Tukaram, who wrote, “One who befriends the poor and the oppressed, recognises him to be a saint, for God is with him.” She also quoted Nehru and Tagore and paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad and Sarojini Naidu. Ms Patil, who rose in the Congress hierarchy as a loyalist of the Gandhi family, recalled the contributions of late prime minister Indira Gandhi towards the upliftment of the underprivileged.

The swearing-in function started when Ms Patil was ceremoniously brought in to the venue in the company of the outgoing president, flanked by the Lok Sabha Speaker, the chief justice of Supreme Court, the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha and senior protocol officials. The function was preceded and followed by impressive guards of honour given by the mounted President’s Body Guards (PBGs) on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Earlier in the day, Ms Patil was first invited by the President’s Military Secretary from her temporary residence in South Avenue to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. After a quick inter-services guard of honour to Mr Kalam, the two drove to Parliament House escorted by mounted PBGs.

After the ceremony, the two again drove back in a ceremonial procession to Rashtrapati Bhavan where the new president inspected the first inter-services guard of honour. After spending some time together, Mr Kalam left Rashtrapati Bhavan, marking the end of the day’s ceremonies.