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Private sector should adopt social policies: Narayanan

In a significant socio-economic statement, President K R Narayanan on Friday asked the private sector to adopt social policies that are progressive and more egalitarian for uplift of deprived classes from deprivation and inequality in the 'present economic system and of the future'.

"This is not to ask the private enterprises accept Socialism, but to do something like what the Diversity Bill and the affirmative action that a capitalist country like the United States of America has adopted and is implementing," he said in his address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day.

In his last Republic Day address before he lays down office later by the middle of the year, Narayanan said, "With attention to problems of the masses, the country would be strong to pursue the policy of peace and co-existence and that will be our democratic answer to the evil phenomenon of terrorism that we in India and the world in general are facing today."

"Alongside, we will have to build up the economic strength and the defensive capacity of our country to its fullest potential," he said.

In his five-page address, devoted to social issues, Narayanan talked about child welfare, Panchayat Raj and the recurring 'illtreatment and atrocities' on women.

Significantly, the president did not refer to issues like security and the current Indo-Pak tensions.

Narayanan said the problem of women in India was symbolic of the inequalities and injustices in society in general.

"Even today it is amazing that we have not become an inclusive society in spite of the political triumph of our democracy. The discrimination being suffered by women, the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes is a crying denial of the democracy that is enshrined in our Constitution."

He referred to the Bhopal Declaration issued at a conference of Dalit and Tribal intellectuals and activists recently, which demanded 'representation' for these communities in private corporations and enterprises that benefit from government funds and facilities in the present era of privatisation.

"Indeed in the present economic system and of the future, it is necessary for the private sector to adopt social policies that are progressive and more egalitarian for these deprived classes to be uplifted from their state of deprivation and inequality and given the rights of citizens and civilised human beings," the president said and cited the American model.

He said, "I have talked to you about these social questions because if our great democracy is to remain great and relevant to the problems of the masses, we will have to pay heed to these crying socio-economic issues."

Narayanan said one of the clearest indicators of the development of a society is the position and status women enjoy in that society.

"Even though women's rights are recognised as human rights and they are considered as best of human resources and central actors for development, their standing in our society is deplorable", he said.

Recalling how Mahatma Gandhi had mobilised ordinary women in large numbers for the cause of the country's independence, he said 70,000 of them participated in the Salt Satyagraha.

Stating that 2001 was observed as year of women's empowerment, Narayanan said several important measures have been taken to elevate women from their present status.

"It is uplifting to see the ordinary and poor women actively participating in movements and campaigns, for constructive action such as the right to information, river revival programmes and rain water harvesting and watershed management schemes", he said.

The president said the election of almost one million women to Panchayati Raj institutions and their activities in such bodies have brought about a strategic shift in many developmental activities at the grassroots level.

The president said while women's movement is gaining momentum and gathering pace and reaching one milestone after another, 'the illtreatment and atrocities on women are recurring in regular and brutal manner. No day passes without reading and watching gory incidents in print and electronic media'.

Holding the dowry system responsible for snuffing out lives of women at a very young age, Narayanan said it was also responsible for the growing incidence of female foeticide in the country.

"Incidences of rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment at work places and trafficking of women have increased many folds. Half the number of women killed in India are killed in their bedrooms. Rise in cases of sexual harassment by 40 per cent, dowry deaths by 15.2 per cent and smuggling of girls by 87.2 per cent in 1998 are indicative of their traumatised existence. No place is safe for them, not even in their mother's wombs. They are put to death even before they are born", he said.

Quoting Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's poem, he said, "in every panchayat Draupadi is robbed of her honour."

"She is today not only dishonoured in panchayats but also in the city transport buses, in the city streets and even in her own homes. It is high time we got rid of this inequality and indiginity to women in our country. The success of women movements at the grass root level in India shows that it is possible for us to do so," he said.

Emphasising on the need for proper development of children, Narayanan said, "The future of India will depend on the development of this human wealth. It indeed depends on the health and welfare of our children."

He said growth and proper nourishment of children remain at the root of human resources development and the progress of the society and the nation.

"With the largest number of children in the world, India has a large reservoir of human wealth," he said, adding that it was encouraging that the country had had some success in the welfare and development of children.

"India has the largest Integrated Child Development Programme in the world for extending nutrition, health and educational facilities to the children of our country. We have adopted the Pulse Polio Programme that now covers the entire country. Mass immunization programme has achieved remarkable results. If all these programmes together with children's education are implemented we can look forward to a bright future for our children and our country. A poet has said the cry of a child by the roadside mars the harmony of the universe," he said.

Narayanan touched upon issues ranging from building up of democracy and a stable system of government for this vast country to 'real decline in illiteracy in absolute numbers' and the doubling of life expectancy.

Narayanan said it had been acknowledged that the greatest achievement of India since independence has been the building up of democracy and a stable system of government for this vast country.

"But what has not been fully realised by the world and even by ourselves is the magnitude of this achievement in a population of one billion people, belonging to almost all the religions of the world and with diversities of every kind that is imaginable. It was not by force and compulsion, by blood and iron, that this achievement has been brought about, but by peaceful means, by tolerance and willing acceptance of differences and diversities," he said.

The president said it was the product of the ancient philosophy and culture of India, which taught that humanity is one and the whole world is a single nest.

"The renaissance of India in the modern period through non-violent struggle under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi was an event of historic importance," he said.

Appreciating the recent bill making education a fundamental right for children between the age of 6 to 14 as 'a great step forward', he said there is need for extending the facility of free and compulsory education to the entire age group up to 18 years so that illiteracy is banished from the land.

"Let us commit ourselves today as a nation to find ways an means to realise this cherished dream," he said.

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