New Delhi - Ram Nath Kovind, a former member of the ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), took his oath as India's 14th president
in the central hall of parliament on Tuesday.
In his inaugural speech, the 70-year-old lawyer said he was proud of
India's unity in diversity and pledged to protect and uphold the
Constitution and the values of justice, independence and equality.
"I will represent each of the country's 1.25 billion people," Kovind
said.
The Indian president is head of state and is chief commander of the
army, but the position is largely ceremonial with all executive
powers vested in the prime minister.
The president plays an important role when elections produce hung
parliaments, when state governments are dissolved and during other
political crises.
India's Chief Justice JS Khehar administered the oath of office to
Kovind, who spoke of his humble origins from a Dalit farmer's family.
"We are a country of great diversity, yet have shown that unity is
the way forward," Kovind said.
Dalits, formerly untouchables, are the lowest rung of India's ancient
caste system and despite decades of affirmative action many of them
are still confined to jobs like manual scavenging or burning the
dead.
Once an activist of the Hindu right wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS), the ideological mentor of the BJP, Kovind took over from
Pranab Mukherjee, a former leader of the opposition Indian National
Congress.