Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's address at the Second Prof. Hiren Mukherjee Memorial Lecture

I am delighted to be here today on the occasion of the second Prof. Hiren Mukherjee Memorial Lecture. I welcome and greet Prof. Muhammad Yunus who will deliver this highly prestigious address. Prof. Yunus is truly an exceptional human being and it is really a privilege to be in his company. He has been a professor of economics, a civil servant and a social worker. His work demonstrates the great power of ideas. In his case his path is best described by anUrdu couplet Main Akela Hi Chala Tha Janebe Manjil Magar Log Milte Gaye aur Carvan Banta Gaya. Prof. Yunus is one of those exceptional human beings who has successfully applied his knowledge of economics and society for reducing the poverty of millions and millions of men and women. In this he has indeed been a great visionary of our times. We have much to learn from the recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize and I once again applaud and salute his work and his presence here amidst us. I also congratulate Smt. Meira Kumar, Speaker of the Lok Sabha for having invited Prof. Yunus to address.

The Prof. Hiren Mukherjee Memorial Lecture was instituted by the previous Speaker Shri Somnath Chatterjee. Though he is not present here today, he deserves a special thanks for this initiative. I am sure this annual event will continue to inform and educate us greatly in the years to come.

The speaker last year was another Nobel Laureate, Prof. Amartya Sen. While welcoming him I had mentioned about his passion for inclusive growth which could improve the lives of the poorest and the most underprivileged sections of our society. This is a passion which today's speaker Prof. Yunus shares with Prof. Amartya Sen. Their work is different but there is so much in common in the motivation that drives both their works.

Prof. Yunus has revolutionized the idea of micro credit and made it accessible to the poorest of the poor. His declaration that "Credit is a human right" is a powerful expression of what he believes in. He has brought about a paradigm shift in reaching out to the dispossessed and the disinherited. His work has especially touched poor women and empowered them. Indeed Prof. Hiren Mukherjee would have been very happy today were he to listen to Prof. Yunus today for Prof. Yunus embodies in himself many of the ideals that Prof. Mukherjee lived for. The title of today's lecture "Social Business - A Step Towards Creating a New Economic and Social Order" would have appealed to both the communist and liberal in Prof. Mukherjee because it is a subject that explores the possibility of a more egalitarian society through the power of new ideas.

As we pay tribute to the memory of an outstanding scholar and parliamentarian, a man whose life was one of tireless service to the cause of the poor, a great son of our country. I will not take more of your time. Like all of you, I look forward to the lecture by Prof. Yunus, which I am sure is going to be both exciting and enlightening.