A President’s job is not merely to mouth platitudes and homilies but also to caution and advise the nation from time to time. That is how K.R. Narayanan has perceived his customary duty of addressing the nation on the eve of the Republic Day, quite unlike some of his predecessors. This time too he has freely given vent to his opinions which may or may not be palatable to some in the government. But then he is not a conventional textbook President as borne out by some of his actions, ranging from standing in the queue to vote in a parliamentary election to granting a full-fledged interview to a news journal. But if, in the process, he appears a dyed-in-the-wool Nehruvian socialist, he can't perhaps help it. Whether one agrees with him or not, he has the courage of conviction to state what he believes in. Thus it is no surprise that he has rubbished the kite-fliers who invoked Mahatma Gandhi's name to strike at the roots of adult suffrage, and that too in the name of strengthening the democratic system. Hiswarning is not only against restricted franchise and indirect election but also against overemphasising stability at the cost of responsibility. He does not mince words when he points out the flexibility of the Constitution to respond to the changing needs that has stood the nation in good stead all these 50 years. The inference that the President looks askance at the effort now underway to review the Constitution cannot easily be escaped.Narayanan's is the best defence in recent times of the public-sector based development that India had pursued until recently. It is, therefore, no surprise that he obliquely questions those who run down the concept of the public sector by reminding them that it was the public sector that made it possible for the private sector to expand and flourish later just as the green and white revolutions helped the nation to attain self-sufficiency in food and milk production. But for these basic inputs, the quality of life in India would not have improved and India would not have emerged as a nation of immense scientific and industrial talent.While the President has not said anything against liberalisation, he does not want the government to ride roughshod over the weak and the marginalised, wherever they are. By dwelling at length on the plight of the tribals and quoting the Supreme Court, he is cautioning the government against tampering with the laws that seek to prevent alienation of tribal land in the name of quickening the pace of industrial development. The context in which he said this is at once clear: the ministry of mines seeks to amend the Fifth Schedule that protects the interests of the tribals. He even terms as crime insensitivity to the plight of tribals. In short, he is against any development that widens existing inequalities and creates new forms of inequality. Whether one sees the President's speech as a critique of government policies or not, the advantage of having a saner voice to caution the rulers against political and administrative adventurism cannot be overemphasised. It is in this context that Narayanan's speech shouldbe seen and welcomed.
