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Thursday, January 29, 2009

After treacherous Mumbai bombing

India resolves to fight terrorism
…with legislative changes

Posted: The Chronicle Wednesday, January 28, 2009
By Charles Takyi-Boadu

The government and people of India have resolved in one accord to fight terrorism and its related incidents. On the eve of the country’s 60th Republican anniversary, the government of Indian announced a new plan to clamp down on the activities and operations of terrorists.
In a statement read on her behalf, the President of India, Mrs. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil has called on all Indians to brace up to the challenges ahead and face them.
“I call on fellow citizens and the media to be part of the security network”, she emphasised.
The call entreated all Indians to exhibit a high sense of responsible behaviour in which they would be aware of their surroundings and not to inadvertly create an atmosphere of fear and insecurity.
In a statement read on her behalf by the Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, Mrs. Ruchi Ghanasyan, at India House in Accra, the President announced the setting up of a new agency to deal with terrorist threats, coupled with legislative changes.
She thus stressed the urgent need for a determined, coordinated and concerted approach by all agencies to tackle this menace, saying “our security personnel can be confident that every citizen of India is with them as they take action to safeguard our borders and secure our safety and security within the country.”
In her message to all Indian citizens, both home and abroad, the President further stressed the urgent need for Indians to bury their individual differences to move the country forward, noting that “we cannot give in to regional, sectarian or caste considerations.”
This, according to her, was because these concepts militate against the very principles that Indians as a people chose to follow when they began the journey as a free nation.”
“All Indians, undoubtedly have many identities but with an underlying common identity of being Indian. We may hail from one region but belong to a different caste or religion, or speak a different language that cannot dilute our Indian identity”, she emphasised.
That identity, according to her, in essence meant a civilizational ethos of a shared experience of living together in harmony through generations, in a milieu of great diversity, but in a spirit of tolerance and forbearance that flows from basic belief of unity.
In furtherance of her speech, the High Commissioner cautioned that the incidents of violence by one community against another would have no place in a pluralistic society, and thus appealed to fellow citizens to “fight divisive agendas and work for an India in which our first identity is Indian and only thereafter our other descriptions follow.”
On the economy of India, the President noted that the country has been impacted by the global environment. That notwithstanding, she indicated that the country’s economy has the fundamental strength and resilience to remain on course for economic growth, stressing that “the global financial crisis can be an opportunity to reinforce the structures of our domestic economy.”
For that matter, the government of India has announced monetary and fiscal stimulus packages to increase liquidity in the market and encourage investments.
Considering the fact that it has a large domestic market, and by increasing the purchasing capacity of all sections of the society, the government believes that it can afford to stimulate its economy.
“We could even be one of the nations who can act as an engine to help revive the global economy”, the President noted.
On the occasion of the celebration, three Ghanaian students were honoured for their sterling performance in an essay competition organised in remembrance of Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam, the eleventh President of India, who served from 2002 to 2007.
The three included Messrs. Kwabena Kwegyir-Aggrey who took home the first prize, whiles Jemima Owusua and Elvis Buule annexed the second and third positions respectively.

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