President Pranab talks war
26 July 2012 2:16 AM GMT
The country got its 13th president on Wednesday, as the seasoned Congressman Pranab Mukherjee took oath of office at Parliament. The chief justice of India S H Kapadia administered him the oath in the presence of most prominent politicians of the country from almost all parties.
Immediately after taking oath, Mukherjee spoke about the priorities of the government and the nation. He said that fight against terrorism is the fourth world war and India has been on the frontlines of this.
Taking oath as the president, he said few minutes of peace will achieve far more than many years of war. 'But, the visible rewards of peace have also obscured the fact that the age of war is not over. We are in the midst of a fourth world war – the third was the Cold War – but it was very warm in Asia, Africa and Latin America till it ended in the 1990s,' said the president.
'The war against terrorism is the fourth; and it is a world war because it can raise its evil head anywhere in the world,' the president said in his acceptance speech in the Central Hall of Parliament.
As the head of the armed forces, President Mukherjee hailed the contributions of the Indian armed forces. 'I am proud of the valour, conviction and steely determination of our armed forces as they have fought this menace on our borders; of our brave police forces as they have met the enemy within; and of our people, who have defeated the terrorist trap by remaining calm in the face of extraordinary provocation,' Mukherjee said.
Noting that the people of India have been 'a beacon of maturity through the trauma of whiplash wounds', he reminded those who instigate violence and perpetuate hatred that 'few minutes of peace will achieve far more than many years of war'.
'India is content with itself, and driven by the will to sit on the high table of prosperity. It will not be deflected in its mission by noxious practitioners of terror,' the president said.
Immediately after taking oath, Mukherjee spoke about the priorities of the government and the nation. He said that fight against terrorism is the fourth world war and India has been on the frontlines of this.
Taking oath as the president, he said few minutes of peace will achieve far more than many years of war. 'But, the visible rewards of peace have also obscured the fact that the age of war is not over. We are in the midst of a fourth world war – the third was the Cold War – but it was very warm in Asia, Africa and Latin America till it ended in the 1990s,' said the president.
'The war against terrorism is the fourth; and it is a world war because it can raise its evil head anywhere in the world,' the president said in his acceptance speech in the Central Hall of Parliament.
As the head of the armed forces, President Mukherjee hailed the contributions of the Indian armed forces. 'I am proud of the valour, conviction and steely determination of our armed forces as they have fought this menace on our borders; of our brave police forces as they have met the enemy within; and of our people, who have defeated the terrorist trap by remaining calm in the face of extraordinary provocation,' Mukherjee said.
Noting that the people of India have been 'a beacon of maturity through the trauma of whiplash wounds', he reminded those who instigate violence and perpetuate hatred that 'few minutes of peace will achieve far more than many years of war'.
'India is content with itself, and driven by the will to sit on the high table of prosperity. It will not be deflected in its mission by noxious practitioners of terror,' the president said.
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