An open letter to President Pranab Mukherjee
Aug 2, 2012, 05.17PM IST
Dear Pranab-da,
Namaskar and my heartiest congratulations on being elected to the office of the President of India.
I am writing to you as a proud young Indian with great hope in my heart for our beloved motherland. I have had the privilege of reading your opening address to the nation as the new 'Rashtrapati'.
Your words carried with them great weight in the truth that they sought to convey. I must confess, that to me as a student of the law, your commitment as President to preserving and upholding the Constitution at the very apex of our existence as a democratic polity, was something that greatly inspired me. It is with that inspiration in my heart that I find myself writing this letter to you. You mentioned two things in your speech that struck a chord with me; firstly, the grave importance of securing justice for the poorest of our people and secondly, the urgency of investing heavily in the knowledge and skill development of our youth - and I feel that these two factors in particular will determine India's presence at the high table of the world in the coming decade.
You pointed out in your address that India has indeed a long way to go in the coming decades. Interestingly, you also stated that it is 'the coming generations that would take India forward by quantum leaps'. The youth demographics of our country wholeheartedly corroborate your statement. Your words highlight the glaring importance of making large-scale investments in educational infrastructure to fuel the aspirations and dreams of our youth - investments that will ultimately yield invaluable dividends in the form of India's place in the world as a responsible superpower.
The role of the Indian President as the Constitutional Head of the largest and most expansive democracy on earth, therefore, assumes monumental importance in being able to achieve this grand vision.
Mr. Mukherjee, upon your assumption of office as the 13th President of India, it gives me no pleasure in pointing out to you as a student of the law that you have inherited a seat of power that is weighed down more by the collective taint of past Presidents who chose to discharge their official duties as docile rubber stamps, rather than live by the lofty ideals prescribed in our grand constitution. Most young Indians such as myself, regard you as the elder statesman of Indian politics - a man of strong political vision and an unflinching allegiance to the precepts of the Constitution of India. A man also capable of taking to task the Cabinet if it fails to adhere to the promise of discharging its Constitutional duties. It is for this reason that your commitment to 'preserve, protect and uphold' the Constitution assumes such great importance. The Constitutional ideals that you speak of i.e. 'democracy, equality of rights for every citizen, freedom of consciousness, secularism and economic equity' all demand a firm national grounding in education and unhindered mental growth. Without an enlightened youth, these constitutional ideals will be relegated to the sphere of grand rhetoric and the imaginary greatness of India.
As President, millions of young Indians such as myself would like to see you spearhead a revolution in top-quality education in India. As the conscience-keeper of our Government, the onerous responsibility of directing the Cabinet to use our nation's precious resources responsibly lies with you. India currently ranks an abysmal 134 on the Human Development Index, indicating that our budget outlay on education and health-care is severely inadequate. India desperately needs thousands of more primary and middle schools, where quality standards are strictly monitored by the Human Resources Minister. Having been the fortunate recipient of a top-quality education at one of India's premier law schools and later as a Master's student at an Ivy league university in the United States, I fail to understand why the Indian Government does not commit itself in replicating and expanding our best universities across the country. It pains me to read about the wasteful expenditure we continue to incur through our budget outlay year after year, on non-essential heads - while education continues to stagnate and is at best an after-thought. The grand vision that you speak of in your address can be realized only if the high office of the Indian Presidency that you now occupy is used to convince our Government that its greatest responsibility lies in committing itself to establishing great temples of learning where the arts and sciences can flourish. You have already sounded the battle cry - 'all for knowledge, and knowledge for all'. Amen to that.
As President, your vision for India will determine whether millions of citizens are granted access to speedy justice or not. Article 53 of the Constitution vests in you the executive power of the entire Union of India. The symbolism of this provision cannot be ignored in the least. It is distressing to find that the Judicial infrastructure of our country is in shambles. The lower court system has deteriorated to a level where the poor and illiterate have no recourse to legal remedies and are often victimized by greedy and short-sighted officers of the law. Our District and High Courts are burdened with ever expanding dockets and often suffer delayed judicial appointments, leading ultimately to the great misery of litigants and their families. Even more disconcerting is the fact that the Hon'ble Supreme Court, which was conceived originally as the last bastion of fairness, equity and justice for all citizens whose most sacred and fundamental rights had been violated, is now reduced to a court of mere final appeal where even trivial issues of little or no public importance are expected to be heard and decided. These facts are obviously alarming, and should ideally inspire the Government to act with sprightly fortitude to remedy and reform the crumbling infrastructure.
Mr. President, India needs your ability to build consensus on these issues now more than ever. Destiny has given us another chance to redeem ourselves and help build an India that the coming generations will be proud to inherit and committed to nurture. Your leadership can help pave the way for an enlightened youth where education is given the highest priority and is guaranteed by a robust justice delivery mechanism.
I hope you do not regard my letter as merely the rant of an idealistic youngster, but treat it as the exhortation of your children and theirs.
Jai Hind.
With warm personal regards,
Jai Anant Dehadrai
University of Pennsylvania Penn Law School
Namaskar and my heartiest congratulations on being elected to the office of the President of India.
I am writing to you as a proud young Indian with great hope in my heart for our beloved motherland. I have had the privilege of reading your opening address to the nation as the new 'Rashtrapati'.
Your words carried with them great weight in the truth that they sought to convey. I must confess, that to me as a student of the law, your commitment as President to preserving and upholding the Constitution at the very apex of our existence as a democratic polity, was something that greatly inspired me. It is with that inspiration in my heart that I find myself writing this letter to you. You mentioned two things in your speech that struck a chord with me; firstly, the grave importance of securing justice for the poorest of our people and secondly, the urgency of investing heavily in the knowledge and skill development of our youth - and I feel that these two factors in particular will determine India's presence at the high table of the world in the coming decade.
You pointed out in your address that India has indeed a long way to go in the coming decades. Interestingly, you also stated that it is 'the coming generations that would take India forward by quantum leaps'. The youth demographics of our country wholeheartedly corroborate your statement. Your words highlight the glaring importance of making large-scale investments in educational infrastructure to fuel the aspirations and dreams of our youth - investments that will ultimately yield invaluable dividends in the form of India's place in the world as a responsible superpower.
The role of the Indian President as the Constitutional Head of the largest and most expansive democracy on earth, therefore, assumes monumental importance in being able to achieve this grand vision.
Mr. Mukherjee, upon your assumption of office as the 13th President of India, it gives me no pleasure in pointing out to you as a student of the law that you have inherited a seat of power that is weighed down more by the collective taint of past Presidents who chose to discharge their official duties as docile rubber stamps, rather than live by the lofty ideals prescribed in our grand constitution. Most young Indians such as myself, regard you as the elder statesman of Indian politics - a man of strong political vision and an unflinching allegiance to the precepts of the Constitution of India. A man also capable of taking to task the Cabinet if it fails to adhere to the promise of discharging its Constitutional duties. It is for this reason that your commitment to 'preserve, protect and uphold' the Constitution assumes such great importance. The Constitutional ideals that you speak of i.e. 'democracy, equality of rights for every citizen, freedom of consciousness, secularism and economic equity' all demand a firm national grounding in education and unhindered mental growth. Without an enlightened youth, these constitutional ideals will be relegated to the sphere of grand rhetoric and the imaginary greatness of India.
As President, millions of young Indians such as myself would like to see you spearhead a revolution in top-quality education in India. As the conscience-keeper of our Government, the onerous responsibility of directing the Cabinet to use our nation's precious resources responsibly lies with you. India currently ranks an abysmal 134 on the Human Development Index, indicating that our budget outlay on education and health-care is severely inadequate. India desperately needs thousands of more primary and middle schools, where quality standards are strictly monitored by the Human Resources Minister. Having been the fortunate recipient of a top-quality education at one of India's premier law schools and later as a Master's student at an Ivy league university in the United States, I fail to understand why the Indian Government does not commit itself in replicating and expanding our best universities across the country. It pains me to read about the wasteful expenditure we continue to incur through our budget outlay year after year, on non-essential heads - while education continues to stagnate and is at best an after-thought. The grand vision that you speak of in your address can be realized only if the high office of the Indian Presidency that you now occupy is used to convince our Government that its greatest responsibility lies in committing itself to establishing great temples of learning where the arts and sciences can flourish. You have already sounded the battle cry - 'all for knowledge, and knowledge for all'. Amen to that.
As President, your vision for India will determine whether millions of citizens are granted access to speedy justice or not. Article 53 of the Constitution vests in you the executive power of the entire Union of India. The symbolism of this provision cannot be ignored in the least. It is distressing to find that the Judicial infrastructure of our country is in shambles. The lower court system has deteriorated to a level where the poor and illiterate have no recourse to legal remedies and are often victimized by greedy and short-sighted officers of the law. Our District and High Courts are burdened with ever expanding dockets and often suffer delayed judicial appointments, leading ultimately to the great misery of litigants and their families. Even more disconcerting is the fact that the Hon'ble Supreme Court, which was conceived originally as the last bastion of fairness, equity and justice for all citizens whose most sacred and fundamental rights had been violated, is now reduced to a court of mere final appeal where even trivial issues of little or no public importance are expected to be heard and decided. These facts are obviously alarming, and should ideally inspire the Government to act with sprightly fortitude to remedy and reform the crumbling infrastructure.
Mr. President, India needs your ability to build consensus on these issues now more than ever. Destiny has given us another chance to redeem ourselves and help build an India that the coming generations will be proud to inherit and committed to nurture. Your leadership can help pave the way for an enlightened youth where education is given the highest priority and is guaranteed by a robust justice delivery mechanism.
I hope you do not regard my letter as merely the rant of an idealistic youngster, but treat it as the exhortation of your children and theirs.
Jai Hind.
With warm personal regards,
Jai Anant Dehadrai
University of Pennsylvania Penn Law School
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