Today, we are gathered here to honour a great daughter of Asia, in the name of another great daughter of Asia.

We in India are well acquainted with Her Royal Highness the Princess. She is as highly respected personality in our country as she is in her own. We know her as a keen scholar of Sanskrit and as a devout Buddhist. But Her Royal Highness is all these and more. Her life and work prove that she is a great citizen of the world. Her work in the service of children, and in preservation of the culture of her people, consistently shows us how much we can achieve if we are only motivated to do so. She is both an admirable representative of the Thai people, and an outstanding symbol of a great resurgent nation.

It is in a very similar manner that India remembers Indiraji. She was not merely the Prime Minister of India during a very critical phase in our history; she was much more than that. She was the embodiment of the aspiration of the people of our country for a life of dignity and self-respect. She was a great statesman; a proud leader of the Indian people, indeed, she was an Asian and world leader who strode the world like a veritable colossus. Indiraji was zealously committed to global peace, universal disarmament, enviroumental protection and development among nations that had been freed from the colonial yoke. Those who met her were struck by her intense patriotism and at the same time by her internationalism. At the same time, she truly understood and loved art and culture, while being a keen student of history as well as of international relations. She was Indian to the core, but a modernist by instinct. Her commitment to the welfare of every citizen of our vast land — irrespective of creed, class, caste or community — was total.

For the past 18 years, recipients of the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development have represented various facets of Indiraji's personality. I believe it is fair to say that these dignitaries are persons Indiraji would have been proud to honour. In that spirit, I am confident that Indiraji would have been as delighted as we all are at the fact that Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn is the recipient of the award instituted in her name for the year 2004.

Your Royal Highness, may I say that we are deeply honoured and gratified by your gracious presence here in our midst. For India, it is a particular pleasure to recognize your work, given the close bonds of history, geography and culture that bind our two ancient cultures and civilizations. In the modern age, India and Thailand are jointly seeking a future in which our shared past and our current commonalities fuel our search for a more cooperative tomorrow. I do believe that India and Thailand are destined to be on the same side of history, as neighbours, as friends, and as partners in the quest for progress. We look forward to working together to strengthening these bonds of friendship and amity.

Your Royal Highness, I therefore believe that we honour ourselves by honouring you. I am truly delighted to see you receive this award named after the greatest daughter of India in our recent history. We salute you today, and in doing so, we also salute the friendly Thai people, whom you have always represented so admirably and ably.