New Delhi, May 27: Vice-President and Chairman Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankhar Tuesday said that, “For national security, we need indigenous strength. War is best avoided from position of strength. Peace is secured when you are ever ready for war….strength comes apart from technological prowess, conventional arms strength, from people also.”
Highlighting the need for the citizens to carry out their duties, he stated, “ The balance has to be maintained. Let us not cherry pick. We’ll go for fundamental rights, claiming them 24 x 7, and be totally oblivious of fundamental duties!…if we focus only on our rights and not on duties, we don’t measure up to the requirement of a citizen in the largest democracy, the oldest, the most functional. There are 11 fundamental duties. These duties were not initially there in the Constitution. And I’ll tell you for a reason. Our founding fathers obviously expected that we will be aligned to these duties. We will respect those duties. But when it was noticed that it is required to spell them out in the Constitution so that people in particular become aware of these. And these were introduced by 42nd Amendment and 86th Amendment. If I have to give a sense of fundamental duties, it is to prioritise national well-being. To contribute optimally for public discourse, public order, public discipline, environment, everything which is known as goodness in life for one and all.”
“Sometimes people wonder how can we contribute? Swadeshi is closely connected with economic nationalism. Economic nationalism means we must consume Swadeshi. We must always take into consideration being vocal for local. This will inspire our people also to cater to our needs. But if we start importing from other countries, items that are generated in this country, that can be made in this country, we are immediately inviting three troubles. One trouble, there is an avoidable hole in our foreign exchange reserve, and this is in billions of dollars. Second, when we import items that can be made in this country, we are snatching work from our own people. We are depriving them of work. And thirdly, more importantly, we are blunting entrepreneurship. So every individual can contribute. What clothes he wears, what he eats, what he wears, his shoes also. Everything. These are consumables. We fancy what is abroad. Unmindful of the situation that we are injuring our national economy. I therefore assert economic nationalism is business of the people”, he added.
Peace secured by readiness for war: V-P
