Mr. President, Sir, my heart goes in thankfulness to God that you are the first President of the Republic of India. Two thousand five hundred years ago, your province gave birth to Gautam Buddha who carried the message of peace all over Asia. In our own century Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, preached the gospel of universal peace through non-violence. You are a great disciple of his and I sincerely hope–I have known you for so many years–that you will carry that message and uphold the doctrines of Mahatma Gandhi not only in your rule over us in India but throughout the universe. People are everywhere suffering from the greed of men and India stands in no less need of upliftment. It is God’s will that you should guide our destinies through non-violence to peace and to a higher and nobler status of humanity. I hope that under your leadership India will be able to bring about world peace and human happiness.
