India celebrated Saturday its anniversary of independence from British rule with a vow to eradicate terrorism from its soil in the wake of last year's devastating militant attacks on Mumbai. India was strengthening its security to prevent assaults such as the carnage in the financial capital last November in which 166 people were killed by Muslim gunmen, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said. “After the Mumbai attacks our government has taken various steps and our intelligence agencies and security organizations are being strengthened,” Singh said in an address to the nation from the Red Fort in the Indian capital. “We will succeed in eradicating terrorism from Indian soil,” Singh added from behind a bullet-proof screen at the heavily guarded Mughal-built fort. The annual Independence Day address marks the end of British rule in 1947 and partition of the subcontinent into mainly Hindu India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, a split that has caused endless tension in the region. Singh did not mention India's rival Pakistan by name but reiterated that India wants to live in peace and harmony with its neighbors. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan began a peace process in 2004 that was put on hold after the Mumbai attacks. India says “official agencies” of Pakistan abetted the attackers who arrived by sea and targeted two hotels, a congested rail station and a Jewish center. Islamabad rejects the allegations but accepts the attackers were Pakistani citizens and says it is making efforts to bring the plotters to justice. Singh also pledged to crack down on Maoist insurgents who have set up base in nearly half of the country and who say they are fighting against the exploitation of landless farmers. “People who think they can rule with the power of the gun underestimate the power of Indian democracy,” Singh said. New Delhi was under a huge security blanket with heavily armed commandos guarding the imposing sandstone fort where cabinet ministers, diplomats and guests were invited to hear Singh's speech. Police barricades blocked roads. Singh also said that returning to a high growth rate is the greatest challenge facing India, with a weak monsoon making the task harder, but the economy may improve by year-end. India's economy is likely to grow by 6.5-7 percent in the year to March 2010, a top policy adviser said this week, matching the 6.7 percent growth in 2008/09, and well below the growth rates of 9 percent or more in the previous three years. “Restoring our growth rate to 9 percent is the greatest challenge we face,” Singh said. “We expect that there will be an improvement in the situation by the end of this year,” he said, after unfurling the Indian tri-color to the sound of the ceremonial 21-gun salute. Monsoon rains in India, Asia's third-largest economy, are 29 percent below average so far, raising concerns of weaker farm output and inflation. Economists say a bad monsoon could knock as much as 2 percentage points off growth. But India has adequate stocks of foodgrains, and the government will keep food prices in check, Singh said. “All efforts will be made to control rising prices of foodgrains, pulses and other goods of daily use,” he said, speaking from behind a bullet-proof enclosure. “The goal is four percent annual growth in agriculture, and I am confident it will be achieved in the next five years,” he said. Singh, leading the Congress party coalition for a second term after a decisive election victory in May, also called for calm in dealing with the H1N1 pandemic, which has muted celebrations of the 63rd anniversary of India's independence from British rule.
