On the occasion of 68th independence anniversary of India, Prime Minister’s address to the nation from the ramparts of historic Red Fort of Delhi is to be noted for its non-diplomatic and non-formalized tenor. It was the head of an ordinary Indian family speaking to his family members whose needs he understands and whose pain he feels. He brought to the memory of the nation tremendous sacrifices made by ordinary men and women of India, on various fronts, in the fields, in the factories, in the laboratories, on the battle ground, in the offices and under the portals of the fountains of knowledge which collectively made India of our days. In particular, this was the moment for paying humble tribute to those great sons and daughters of India who laid down their precious lives in the service of the nation. They laid down their lives so that we may live, and live not for ourselves only, not for our families only but for the motherland, the millions and millions of Indians who toil day and night to carry the nation forward.
Here is a Prime Minister beckoning the nation to move and move in right direction. Here is a Prime Minister sensitizing each Indian in whatever capacity he works, to work for the nation as the final purpose of his life. He invokes sense of responsibility to duty and to conscience. This nation has tremendous potential and the Prime Minister wants this potential to be exploited in the interests of the nation. In this century of science and technology, life had to be cast in a mould that is capable of deriving maximum benefit for the individual and the nation. He did not focus on what the Government intends to do; he did not draw a long list of ambitious projects something that is customary for Prime Ministers when they form a new Government. No, he did not do that. But he stirred the conscience of the people of his country to what they are expected to do to carry forward this country of great historic antiquity. He did not speak of economy, of fiscal policy, or soaring prices, of terror and fundamentalism, of foreign policy and its nuances, of neighbours or of aliens. The Government will take care of all these things as it deems fit. But it is the individual, the unit that matters. Stressing on the importance of democracy, he rightly praised the founding fathers of Indian Constitution who gave us the mantra of governing this country of multifaceted cultures, ethnicity, faiths and languages. Indirectly referring to himself, he said that it was only the power of democracy that could throw up a boy of a lower middle class from a far off village to make him the Prime Minister of the largest democracy in the world. By this reference, the Prime Minister meant to tell the nation that they enjoyed the most powerful weapon which when handled with care and trust would be the best security and guarantee of prosperity for the nation. We have passed through a dark age of poverty, deprivation and destitution. We have braved these debilities with fortitude and here we have the space where we can do wonders. He prompted the nation to realize its potential and bring out the best out of it. Discipline is the mantra that should regulate the lives of people. Discipline is not to appease or oblige somebody; it is a philosophy of life that makes the journey smooth for one’s self and for others.
The Prime Minister has been in office for just two and half a month. He is not out for fault finding; he is for efficiency, delivery and punctuality. He does not believe in punitive measures or censure or bossism — he calls himself Prime Sewak — the first servant of the nation. As such, he expects the entire administrative structure in the country to be adherents to self generating discipline. It will have deep impact on the entire administrative culture. We have often heard that our bureaucracy is mired in colonial administrative culture. It is true to some extent but the reason is that its orientation in indigenization was not attempted at by earlier chief executives.  In that sense we are on the threshold of a new era.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has announced Independence Day gifts for the people of his State. Surely there is some good news. Some of the sections of people will be bestowed reservation in OBC category which will help them in improving the quality of their life. The Pahari speaking people need incentive to raise the standard of education, employment and other facilities. In a welfare state the weaker sections of society need crutches till they come to a level at par or near par with other better placed sections of society. The recommendation made by the State Government to the Centre for recognizing Pahari speaking people as Scheduled Tribes is the right thing that needed to be done. That would be a real boon to this community.
Another gift that will impact all sections of society is reduction in the electricity duty from 22 per cent to 10 per cent. This appears to be a brave decision because generally electric department complains of deficit in revenues and recommends ways and means of increasing the tariff etc. This step of the Chief Minister will be hailed by one and all.
Pahari speaking people are scattered over a vast area extending to both Kashmir and Jammu region. They are perhaps the largest group who live in the mountain fastnesses but are not migratory in nature as the Bakarwals are. The fact is that granting them Scheduled Tribe status is belated. It should have been granted many years ago. However it is better late than never. The State Government is determined to improve the lot of this neglected section of the society in the State. While speaking to the media, he candidly said that he has announced some perks which he has the authority to do but some more perks which he would have really liked to announce could not be given because they do not fall within the ambit of his powers. However he said he would interact with the authorities to see that more facilities are provided to the people.