"It is indeed an honour for me to be here in your midst today and participate in a seminar associated with the birth centenary celebrations of a great national leader the Late Babu Jagjivan Ram. It is all the more relevant that the theme of the seminar being organized today is on agriculture - a sector which is heavily indebted to Babuji for his immense contributions and which is a matter of renewed concern and renewed attention today. It is appropriate that as we commemorate Babuji's centenary, we also remember his contributions across the entire breadth of our economy and polity and Indian society.

Babuji would have been a hundred years old now. Even though he is not with us in physical form, his legacy of struggle and service to the nation continue to inspire us and will continue to inspire for generations to come. A product of our freedom struggle, he was deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi. He continued to cherish the values of our independence movement even as he achieved remarkable success in our politics and in our public life. Coming from an extremely deprived background from a region known for its caste consciousness, he showed tremendous determination, tenacity and the will to succeed. His spectacular achievements testify to his merit, hard struggle and exceptional courage. Inspite of the social exclusion he suffered, he demonstrated an iron will in fighting against injustice of all kinds.

Rendering service to those who were on the margins of society remained central to his life and his work. He became one of the key personalities of our freedom movement around whom people gathered to serve the cause of social reform and social justice. While striving for social reform and abolition of untouchability, he stressed on both empowerment of Dalits and a change in the heart among others in the social order. It was demonstrative of an approach which Mahatma Gandhi stressed. Babuji described casteism as a dangerous evil and fervently pleaded for a revolutionary change to put an end to this age old malady. His life was a living example of a long struggle for establishing a casteless society in our country.

Apart from being a great agent of social change, Babuji was an administrator par excellence. The many portfolios he handled for three decades as a Minister in the Union Cabinet demonstrate his administrative calibre, efficiency and sound sense of judgement and leadership. Many of our progressive legislations safeguarding the interests of labour are a result of his initiatives as our Labour Minister. He made history as the Defence Minister of our country, providing remarkable leadership to our armed forces in the Bangladesh war in 1971.

It was during his tenure as the Agriculture Minister that the country achieved self-sufficiency in food grain production. It is indeed apt that, today, as we discuss the challenges confronting our agricultural sector, we once again reflect on the leadership provided by Babuji at a time of grave crisis in an earlier era. We need to understand the role played by visionary leadership in making a difference to our agricultural sector. I am very happy that our great scientist, Dr. Swaminathan is here with us to provide us guidance and support as we chart out a new course for agricultural renovation and revival. We once again need such vision and such leadership of the type provided by Babu Jagjivan Ram if our agriculture is to meet the requirements of the coming decades.

Babuji's political and administrative skills, combined with his vision for a democratic social order, make him stand tall as a crusader for social equality. It is important for us to follow in his footsteps to address the challenges faced by our society in this 21st century. While celebrating his birth centenary, let us rededicate ourselves to his ideals.

Mahatma Gandhi once referred to Babuji and wrote "My heart goes out in respectful admiration to Jagjivan Ram for his having emerged as the purest gold out of fire". Such was the regard that Mahatma Gandhi had for Babuji. Babuji, who commanded the respect of Gandhiji, later commanded the respect of the whole nation for his role as a freedom fighter, a great statesman and a fighter for a just social order. His life of intense struggle, great service and sacrifice will continue to guide all those who suffer deprivation and discrimination. His lasting message of social equality is of critical significance for our times marked by impressive progress in the economic field. By combining his social vision with our approach to nation building, we can make our growth processes more inclusive as they must be if they are to meet the aspirations of our people. That will be our real tribute to Babu Jagjivan Ram. I join all of you in paying my homage to this great son of our country and a builder of modern India."