"At the outset, let me extend my hearty congratulations and felicitations to Swami Agnivesh and Madari Moideen Sahib, the recipients of the 12th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award. I am one among many across our country, who have drawn inspiration from the good work that Agniveshji and Moideenji have untiringly and selflessly done for the welfare of the less privileged among our people. Soniaji has described their work in most eloquent terms and words fail me to match her eloquence. People like the two recipients of the award this year inspire by example and they help to give a new meaning and content to our public life, restoring sanity and imparting strength to it.

The battles they have waged against poverty and for freedom, against suffering and for a life of dignity, against fundamentalism and for the values enshrined in our Constitution that we all cherish, are the battles we must all join in our own way, wherever and whenever the challenge presents itself.

It is only befitting that we honour these two personalities today on the 60th birth anniversary of our beloved Shri Rajiv Gandhi, who himself epitomized a unique blend of both tradition and modernity. Rajivji summoned will and courage to take steps that would enable our country to move more self-assuredly into the 21st century, making full use of the enormous potential offered by the application of science and technology. At the same time, he sought to blend India's composite culture with an evolving modern identity. While striving to achieve this challenging goal, he confronted the dark forces of communalism, religious fundamentalism and bigotry and laid down his youthful life in defence of democratic values, in defence of our composite culture and in defence of social harmony and tolerance.

Believing that "the resurgence of communalism is the biggest challenge to national unity", Rajivji reached out to address the problem by adopting well thought out pragmatic policies and promoting understanding and oneness among all our people. Lamenting that our religion is getting itself reduced to mere rituals, Rajivji cautioned us to 'pull back from the drift and bring India back to the acceptance of a much deeper faith - a dharma'. In honouring Swami Agnivesh we pay homage to this aspect of Rajivji's great legacy.

Swami Agnivesh is a unique personality of our times. He exemplifies our national ethos in his quest for a deeper faith. He has said 'One of the foremost needs in the Indian context today is to reform the very idea of religion'. He despairs at the gradual depletion of spirituality in our religions and has expressed his anguish and pain at the erosion of ethics in our society and polity. I share Agniveshji's view that 'men of religion' must 'play a more positive role in politics, and imbue in it the values that nourish public culture and the art of governance'. It recalls the views of Swami Vivekananda, of whom we cannot but think when we see Agniveshji, who sought to build his movement for national regeneration and reconstruction on the foundation of deep spiritual values, and not bigotry, religious fanaticism or castes.

Agniveshji's relentless fight for the poor and deprived sections of society, his crusade against alcoholism, female foeticide, bonded labour and child labour, his struggle for gender equality and justice and above all his campaign against vulgar consumerism and environmental degradation are manifestations of his creative application of religion to the problems of our time.

It may be relevant here to recall that in 1986, while inaugurating a national symposium on, 'India's Struggle Against Communalism', Rajivji had said, 'Unity of India will come only with deep respect for all faiths and beliefs and this deep respect characterizes most Indians.' Recognizing the limitations of the use of police, and law and order machinery in the fight against communalism and fundamentalism, Rajivji said 'The greater task, and the much harder task, is to bring about a feeling, a mood, an atmosphere in the country that does not allow communalism and fundamentalism to develop and grow'.

The second awardee today, Madari Moideen Sahib, is an ardent practitioner of altruism and humanism. He has put into practice the common touch and feeling characteristic of an ordinary citizen of our country and has incessantly reminded us that compassion and a caring attitude bind all humanity together. Moideen Sahib's life has been devoted to the service of the poor and the downtrodden. It reminds us of Mahatma Gandhi who wrote in 1942, 'Those who are filled with a living spirit of service will always serve whatever their position in life'. He had adopted children of parents who are socially and economically deprived, and has reared and nurtured them in his own house. This is an inspiring example of sharing and fellow feeling which recaptures the ideal of fraternity, one of the guiding principles of our Constitution and nation building, which was so dear to the heart of Shri Rajivji Gandhi.

The wide range and diversity of constructive work undertaken by Swamiji and Moideen Sahib and their caring and compassionate concern for the poor are indicative of the tremendous role that individuals can play in improving the human condition.

On Rajivji's 60th Birth Anniversary, I deem it my privilege to be here to congratulate and salute the two great personalities whose life and work are a shining example of the ideals that were so dear to the heart of Shri Rajiv Gandhi, for which he toiled hard and laid down his life."