Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's key note address at India Today Conclave

"I am delighted to be once again at this annual conclave. However, I truly wish that I was here to listen, rather than speak. You have gathered an impressive group of speakers, and I would have liked to hear them all.

I am happy that this dialogue began this morning with the opening remarks of His Excellency, the former President of Iran, Mohammad Khatami. I have the highest regard for his wisdom, his scholarship and his statesmanship. He is a great citizen of the world, a great leader of the Iranian people and a great friend of India. It is pertinent that at a conclave like this we recall his wise words at the U.N. Conference on Dialogue Among Civilisations in September 2000. It was a dialogue that he had initiated. I recall his saying that:

"The ultimate goal of dialogue among civilizations is not dialogue in itself, but attaining empathy and compassion."

I believe the ultimate goal of conferences like these should also not be that they are an end in themselves, or merely commercial events, but they help open up our hearts and minds and make us more understanding and compassionate. President Khatami concluded his address to the U.N. with these wise words, and I once again quote it:

"In the domains of economics, politics and culture, problems and issues rarely remain local and indigenous. We all deeply engage in making use of each other's social, cultural and spiritual findings. The penetration of eastern religions to the West, repercussions of Western political, cultural and economic developments in the East, and, most significantly, the expansion of global electronic communication have all rendered dialogue among civilizations a reality close to home."

I fully endorse these sentiments. Today they have acquired renewed relevance in international affairs. We in India appreciate them more than any other people. Such a dialogue among civilizations has been the living reality for more than a millennium in this ancient and sacred land of ours. India is home to all the great religions of the world. India is home to scores of languages, hundreds of dialects, dozens of cuisines, a medley of races, colours, landscapes and cultures. The idea of India, as we all know, was shaped by this notion of "unity in diversity". That is why I have often said that the success of the Indian experiment is vital to the survival of mankind.

My friend Aroon Purie has asked me to reflect today on the theme "Challenges for the Brave New World: Can India Take the Lead?" I believe India is one of the frontrunners in showing the world the way forward in dealing with one of the biggest challenges facing mankind in the modern world. This is the challenge of preventing the so-called "clash of civilizations" and enabling not just a "dialogue" between civilizations but creating a "confluence of civilizations".

India is a confluence of civilizations. In building an open and pluralistic society within the framework of a liberal and secular democracy we have shown the world a way to deal with the complex heterogeneity of modern societies. Every nation must endeavour to be an open society in which the plurality of the human experience can find full and free expression. I am not talking of majorities tolerating minorities. I am talking of all groups, big and small, living together in harmony.

In seeking to build a democratic society, the leaders of our freedom movement grappled with the challenge of a brave new world they were forced to confront. As I have often said, ours is an ancient civilization, but we are a young nation. The survival, growth and vibrancy of our nation has vindicated the faith of our founders in the democratic values of pluralism, liberalism and secularism. It has enabled us to show many embattled corners of the world a practical way forward in enabling the `confluence of civilisations'.

If India has a message for the world, it is this. Mankind must shun all extremes and all forms of extremism. We must reject all ideologies of exclusion for nature's way has been to be inclusive. Nature had of course willed the survival of the fittest, but human societies have come to accept the idea of live and let live. Our conception of an inclusive society is based on this principle.

This is our message for the world, but it is also a message we must constantly remind ourselves of. When I see intolerance, when I see hatred and mutual suspicion, when I see an unwillingness to engage in constructive dialogue and debate, I wonder if we ourselves have forgotten the very principles on which our nation was conceived?

This conference wants us to focus on the challenge of dealing with a "brave new world". Every generation would like to believe that it is entering a "brave new world"! That spirit is natural and welcome. It inspires each generation to seek new horizons and find new answers to problems old and new. Many, however, will rest content reinventing the wheel and pouring old wine into new bottles. But some will strike out and find new paths.

A society that encourages creativity, enterprise, innovation, and risk taking will be a vibrant society. Such a society will be capable of dealing with the challenges of a brave new world. I believe we must do all that is possible to allow the full expression of such human creativity and ingenuity. This we can do best within the framework of an open society. But such a society will have to be a literate and educated society. It will have to be a healthy and caring society. A knowledge- empowered society. A free and egalitarian society functioning within the parameters of the rule of law and civilized conduct and discourse. Above all, it will have to be an inclusive society. It has been our endeavour to make ours such a society.

But, there are no shortcuts in history. The management of human affairs requires patience and effort, not just vision and leadership. Humanity has often been led astray by those who claimed a unique vision and offered bold leadership. We live in a highly inter-dependent and complex world where dialogue and patient consultation is required to deal with the challenges we face. To appreciate this and participate in an honest and constructive dialogue is the most effective way to deal with the challenges we face today.

I have often said, both in the context of domestic politics and international conflict, that there is no issue that cannot be resolved through dialogue and discussion. The approach of seeking an eye for an eye, as Gandhiji taught us, can only leave us all blind. Violence and force have never offered lasting solutions to human problems. This consultative and consensual approach is what has kept our diverse nation together.

My friend Amartya Sen has written about the "argumentative Indian", but our real strength has always been our willingness to live and let live. It is not our argumentative nature that we must celebrate, but our assimilative nature, our consensual nature, our accommodative nature. That is what has contributed to the richness of our composite culture and durability of our civilization. This is why I also believe that India can bring to the global high table, to institutions like the U.N. and its Security Council. It can bring a new approach to dealing with global challenges, whether these be challenges of environment, energy security, food security or empowerment of the under privileged sections of society.

Much is often made of our attitude to globalisation. The organizers of this conclave have asked me to reflect on how India views the world and the processes of globalisation. Let me say that I sincerely believe that we Indians have always been open to global influences and that ours will always be an open society. Even in the economic sphere, we are today as open as any free market democracy in the world.

The numbers of course are there to tell the story. The share of foreign trade in our national income is comparable to that of many developed market economies. But our openness is not just about these numbers. Our openness is defined by our attitudes and by our confidence in ourselves. Our media is free and open. Our popular culture has always been welcoming of outside influences. Yet, we have stood securely on our feet. As Mahatma Gandhi used to say, we have our doors and windows open to the free flow of ideas, yet we have confidence in ourselves that we will not be overwhelmed by any of them. I want more of our citizens to appreciate this reality. I am often surprised by the insular outlook of some of our political and intellectual leaders. Their narrow-mindedness betrays a lack of self-confidence in our nation. It is an attitude I do not associate with being Indian.

We must make better use of the opportunities the world offers us. We must be more open to our own neighbourhood. In a fortnight's time we will be hosting the SAARC Summit. I want India to be more open to all our neighbours. I want our neighbours to feel secure and confident that in India they have a well-wisher. We see their prosperity as a guarantee of our own prosperity. We see their progress as reinforcing our own progress. And so must they. The destiny of the people of South Asia is interlinked and inter-dependent. Our region must and can move forward through such a cooperative engagement.

I see a similar mutually beneficial inter-dependence between India and the wider neighbourhood of the Indian Ocean and the Asia-Pacific regions. For centuries our forefathers sailed westwards and eastwards - as teachers, as traders, as merchants and as monks. That is how we should once again approach the world at large.

We must rekindle this interest in the world outside and be willing to deal with the opportunities and challenges it presents. I do believe, however, that to be able to do so with greater confidence we must invest much more in our own capabilities. This is the real challenge before us. We need a new revolution in education. Our educational system has to be modernized, made more accessible, made more relevant to our needs and aspirations. It must equip us better to deal with an ever-changing world. Science and Technology today have made it possible as never before in human history that chronic poverty, ignorance and disease do not have to be the inevitable lot of the majority of the human kind. We must therefore harness the full potential offered by the development of modern science and technology. We must be able to draw on the intellectual resources of the world and also refurbish our own resources. We need world class academic and research institutions and infrastructure. We need a more competitive industry and a more dynamic agricultural economy. Our energies must be focused on these priorities at home. We must get our act together so that we can make the best use of the opportunities presenting themselves before us.

I said earlier that every generation believes it is entering a "brave new world". Yet, one often finds that the challenges we face are after all not so new. Others have faced them and dealt with them. There is much we can learn from them. Be it in education or health care, be it in building roads or better sanitation, be it in water management or conserving energy, be it in manufacturing or agriculture - there is much we can learn from those who have been here before.

At the same time, there are challenges which are truly new. The challenge of addressing the ever-increasing consumption needs of billions of people. If all the developing countries of the world were to aim for a standard of living which is presently seen in the more developed countries, we need to reflect what the environmental consequences would be. Is our planet capable of sustaining a high consumption lifestyle for all its inhabitants? After all, all nations face a single environment and hence, the ill-effects of unbridled growth would affect all nations equally. This is certainly a new challenge for which there are no ready-made answers. As a large nation, India can certainly take a lead in showing the way to the world.

If we need to learn from each other and tread into unknown territory, we need an open mind. I am troubled when I hear people say that India is an open society with a closed mind. That is not the India I have spoken to you about so far. The India I know and I cherish has been open to ideas from across the world. The India I know values knowledge and creativity. The India I know respects learning and scholarship. If we can approach the world and our future with that kind of self-confidence, we can regain the glory of our wondrous past.

I hope your conclave and other such gatherings, encourage us to be more open minded, more willing to learn, more creative, more enterprising and more courageous. In that lies the road to a brighter future for our children and for our grand children.

Thank you."