THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Investments in education and health over the years have helped Kerala become an enlightened state with a very talented human resource base, President Pratibha Patil said.

“While continuing to pursue higher goals in education, health and gender equality the state should also focus on the national agenda of growth with inclusion,” Patil said here during the inauguration of the birth centenary celebrations of former chief minister and Congress leader the late R. Sankar.

“I am confident that the future of Kerala is bright. Kerala has all the ingredients necessary for making progress in the field of information technology, high technology areas and other services,” she said.

She recalled that Sankar was the chief minister during the most turbulent periods in the state. “Besides being a towering political leader and a great statesman, he was an able administrator and an ideal teacher, advocate, social worker and journalist, who exhibited unusual courage to take decisions without fear or favor,” she said.

She said he had contributed immensely to help Kerala create its unique multidimensional identity in which diversity coexists in harmony.

She said Keralites, whether living abroad or in India, working as administrators, doctors, engineers, scientists, nurses or construction workers have earned praise from everyone. This is good for the image of Kerala and of India.

She pointed out that Kerala’s record in reducing general disparity in many social and economic fields was commendable and women’s participation in public affairs, economic activity and the social sphere was important for healthy and sustainable growth. Empowerment of women should be made a main policy plank in all the states.

“The state should continue to pursue with the promotion of holistic health care, employment-oriented higher education and gender equality,” she said. “Sankar’s emphasis on education has, undoubtedly, contributed to where Kerala society stands today in terms of educational attainments. Such initiatives are still necessary in this country to realize the dream of an egalitarian society,” she added.

Earlier, inaugurating the valedictory function of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Kerala Assembly, the president said India had a long tradition of participatory functioning and had shown respect for tolerance and living in harmony throughout history.

“No one can forget that the freedom of India was fought and won with the weapons of truth and nonviolence. That was a remarkable achievement in history.

“The experience of democratic polity of independent India, especially its ability to manage a multicultural, multireligious, multilingual and multiethnic society is drawing global attention,” she said.

She said Kerala could proudly claim a long history of legislative bodies dating back to 1888, when Sree Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma, the maharaja of Travancore, established a council for making laws and regulations, which was a path-breaking event for progressive measures in due course.

“The two other regions of Kerala state — Cochin and Malabar — also had legislative bodies from very early days. Thus, when the state of Kerala was formed in 1956, the parliamentary tradition had already taken deep roots over here,” she said.

“Over the years, the legislature of Kerala has successfully served as an instrument for political democracy enabling social change.,” she said.

“The progressive socioeconomic measures like land reforms, labor welfare, debt relief and re-orientation of education initiated by this body have helped in ushering in a modern era of inclusive growth in the state,” the president added.

“The Kerala Assembly has also been a pioneer in the field of introducing innovative practices,” she said, adding that “the state made a unique contribution by introducing the subject committees in 1980 as instruments of legislative control over the executive.

“Ever since their formation, the standing committees of the Kerala Assembly have done commendable work and their reports have helped a great deal to ensure administrative accountability and to support the weaker sections of society.

“In fact, when the Indian Parliament introduced the system of standing committees, the Kerala innovation was one of the precedents taken into consideration,” she said.