Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's remarks at the release of Prof Amartya Sen's Book

"It is today a rare day in my life, having to introduce a friend of 50 years from whom I have borrowed a great deal, from whom I have learnt a great deal. I think, it was Lord Keynes who said that in human affairs one should not minimise the role of vested interest. But he had the courage to say that, in his view, in the long run ideas are probably more influential than vested interests. Prof. Sen's writings, his life, his work are a standing monument to the living truth embodied in Lord Keynes's that famous quote. When I was a student at Cambridge, and this I have mentioned very many times, an old book of Prof. Pigou influenced me a great deal and that was the opening chapter of his Economics of Welfare in which he stated, 'when we study economics our impulse is not philosopher's impulse - knowledge for the sake of knowledge but for the healing touch that knowledge directly or indirectly may help to bring'. I think, in our times we have seen Prof. Sen's writings have influenced not only national policies but also the way the world thinks about issues of development, about poverty, about inequalities, gender inequalities in particular. In all these areas Prof. Sen has been a great pathfinder. Wonder, I believe, Carlyle once said, is the beginning of philosophy and I go back to Pigou when he said 'it is not wonder but the social enthusiasm which revolts against the joylessness of withered life and the sordidness of mean streets which is the beginning of the economic science'.

Prof. Sen is no ordinary economist. He has contributed a great deal to the world of philosophy, our understanding of our past, culture and civilisation. But his written work has always been inspired by what I believe, is the ultimate purpose of the study of social science. So it is for me a real pleasure to be associated with this function for yet another reason. When I went to Washington I came to know in a manner which was not known to me before, how much the world looks upto India as a laboratory for the successful functioning of a democracy in a country of billion people with a great diversity, where all religions of the world are represented, where we take pride in having twenty different languages as our national languages. When the President of the United States introduced me to his wife and he said to her 'Laura do you know of any other country of a billion people trying to seek its salvation in the framework of a democratic polity'. 150 million Muslims but not one of them has joined the rank Al-qaeda. So it was with deep sense of pride that I heard all that. But we have to practice tolerance, respect for diversity which is our heritage. If the 21st century is to be Indian century and I do believe that this century in many ways will be Indian century because distances are losing their old significance. Advances in science and technology have made it possible as never before that chronic poverty not to be the inevitable lot of a majority of human kind also most societies of the future thanks to the revolution in transport in communication will be multi-cultural and multi-ethnic and how then to reconcile the management of this globalisation processes with the quest inherent in all human beings, of searching for their roots and I think in that quest our culture our civilisation our history I do believe will have important guides.

India is on the threshold of great opportunities and great challenges. As I have said that poverty removal is an attainable goal and here works of Prof. Sen and his colleagues have illuminated the pathways how this can be realised. I think, today more and more people recognize that that's the route to deal with our social and economic problems. But India's message to the world is that diversity pluralism are the way of future. We have lots of challenges at home. At times scepticism to which Prof. Sen has so brilliantly referred in this new book, takes us in many directions sometime it breeds cynicism. I recall, I was in 1975 in Paris attending the meeting of the Aid India Consortium and I think the declaration of emergency was introduced while meeting was on and if a French social scientist of mine said Dr. Singh well inevitable has happened liberal democracy is not meant for people at low standards of living that India has. So this is a luxury you cannot afford and you have proved that sceptics right. For 57 years we have kept the faith with some aberrations but a lot has to be done. I think the thinking segment of our population has to give this lead. The eternal India and essence of Indian culture and civilisation and here Prof. Sen has captured the true essence of what has made our culture and civilisation a living civilisation for thousand and thousand years. So, therefore, this is a book for all Indian to read because India is to regain its place in comity of nations in this 21st century it can be only along the lines the pathways illuminated so brilliantly described in this book.

So I am truly privileged to associate myself with this book which I do believe is something which is of seminal importance to understanding and illuminating the processes of social change in our country and if India succeeds we will have lessons for the rest of the world. After all, we are one-sixth of humanity and if one-sixth of humanity makes up its mind our influence is going to be felt more and more in the comity of the nations. So I thank Prof. Sen for having done me the honour of letting me preside over this function he and I have been friends for 50 years and this is a friendship that I value the most."