Out going-President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil today called on both the Government and the people to jointly build a strong, progressive, cohesive and corruption free India.

In her farewell address to the nation, Patil said elections in our country were bringing in multi-party coalition governments, including regional parties. Patil said expectations of the people were rising and people were seeking quicker responses to their problems. She said nation building was a collective responsibility and every citizen has a contribution to make.

Patil said Democracy had given every citizen of the country a participatory stake in its freedom and progress. She said the essence of democracy should also be internalised so that it was reflected in our patterns of behaviour. Patil cautioned that negative attitudes spread cynicism and despair were not in the interest of the country. She said stability and success of democracy in India rests on social harmony, responsible behaviour, positive attitude and commitment to values.

Patil said along with healthy democracy, there should also be a healthy society. It is a matter of deep distress that social evils of dowry and child marriage, practice of female foeticide, female infanticide continue to exist, she added. These, she said, are unacceptable and must be opposed by all. When citizens stand up against social malpractices they become messengers of change, she further said.

President Patil said innovation was the key to change and a spirit of creativity should exist at every level of society. She also said the potential of women had not been fully realised and still a long way from the goal of gender education. Patil also stressed on including physical education for every boy and girl for an enlightened society.

Patil called on schools and college students to focus on acquiring knowledge and developing progressive attitudes to gain the skills of the new, dynamic knowledge era.