Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM releases 'India to be a Global Power', a book by Vasant Sathe

"I am delighted to release my esteemed friend, Shri Vasant Satheji's new book. I have had the privilege of long years of association with him. I recall where I was the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, some very stimulating discussions that I had with him leading through thought-provoking comments by him on many aspects of our economic and political management. Thereafter, when I became the Finance Minister and issues of tax reforms came up, there also, Satheji came up with a lot of innovative ideas. You may not agree with the solution that he propounds but the question he has often raised they are very relevant questions they are thought-provoking question, there is lot of food for thought in the latest book he has penned down. I have always been impressed by his erudition, his range of interests and his grasp of the complex realities of our vast country. Sathe Ji has served in several ministries holding several important portfolios in key sectors of our economy. At the same time, he has a deep and abiding interest in cultural issues and has a keen understanding of our society, our civilizational values and our cultural ethos.

The catholicity of Shri Sathe's personality is evident in this book. This is a book by a restless soul. It raises issues which cannot be dismissed as irrelevant. They require a debate and a meaningful debate, a purposeful debate and I hope the message that the book has will travel far and wide. I am struck by the choice of issues Satheji has highlighted as defining our quest for a global personality. The four pillars of Satheji's architecture are summarized by the headings of the four chapters. First, a Universal Vision, second, Political Stability, third, Economic Self-Reliance and fourth, Social Reforms.

India's universal vision defines her place in the comity of nations. Our vision is captured in the Preamble of our Constitution. It is based on the ideas and ideals that inspired the national movement. It is a vision that defines India, that defines the idea of India and that defines India's message to the world at large.

As we reflect on the processes of change around the world, it is now so evident that India made the correct political choices after Independence. The whole world has come to value the principles of a liberal, plural and secular democracy. This is the vision of India and our vision of the world that defines our place in the world today.

It is this vision that has also contributed to the second pillar of progress that Satheji discusses, namely, political stability. India despite misgivings of many people to the contrary has demonstrated to the world that despite our diversity, despite our internal differences, despite all the contentious and contending tendencies, we have steadfastly adhered to the principles of parliamentary democracy. We have in the process as Lord Meghnath Desai pointed out grown in strength, economic as well as political. I recall way back in the sixties, seventies a distinguished correspondent of the New York Times came here wrote a book India : The Most Dangerous Decade predicting that at the end of the sixties probably India would cease to be a unified nation. I think we have proved many skeptics wrong. But that does not mean that we do not face challenges. We cannot rest on our laurels. But we can take pride in our achievement that we have despite all our trial and tribulations of managing a complex economy and a complex polity have stayed faithful to the idea of plural democracy.

The smooth change of governments, even after highly divisive electoral campaigns, testifies to the stability of our political process. Governments come and Governments go, but the country moves on without fear of political destabilization, without fear of any threat to our democracy. This too gives us a unique place in the comity of nations. At the same time we have to recognize that the processes of change are throwing up new patterns of leadership, new patterns which lead to and empowers the hitherto marginalized sections. With this we have seen the rise of new leadership from various States, Regional formations and many of them probably have not been bred in the values of democracy, liberal democracy and many of them do not make the distinction between State and private property. But I do believe that although are tensions in our polity these are essentially the pangs of growing up and I feel confident that our country that has proved the skeptics wrong in the past will continue to surprise about our continuing vitality. But that does not mean that the question that Satheji has raised should not be discussed widely. I think they merit a nationwide debate. I do hope that this book will prompt such achievement.

Third, Satheji discusses the role of economic self-reliance. Different people may have different definitions of self-reliance, but I believe the true definition of self-reliance is one's ability to stand on one's feet, harness in full measure modern science and technology, take responsibility for one's actions and have the self-confidence to work with other nations in an increasingly inter-dependent world that we live in. Self-reliance does not mean the pursuit of self-sufficiency. It in fact means having the self-confidence to enter into relationships of mutual benefit with others. The poet John Donne rightly said "No man is an island, entire of itself". Hence, true self-reliance is based on the recognition of the inter-connected nature of human existence and our ability to deal with it. I do, however, recognize the fact that a nation must have confidence in itself, its capabilities and its abilities so that it can feel self-reliant. In this context, it is most important to manage the economy efficiently, operate on the frontiers of modern science and technology and pay adequate attention to the imperatives of national security as Lord Desai emphasized a moment ago. These are important attributes of a global power.

Finally, Satheji reflects on social reform and social change. In doing so, he draws our attention to the importance of an inclusive growth process. Unless all sections of society feel they are part of the processes of change and that they are active participants in these processes, the process of empowerment are in fact working, we will not be able to move forward as a Nation. Our external strength can only be based on internal cohesion. I often said that today India does not face any serious external constraints. Our problems are at home, our challenge are at home and there are also enormous opportunities. The things that we do and the things that we do not do will have a profound consequence on our ability to emerge as a truly global power. An internally divided and divisive society cannot project an external image of strength and power. And I think this is a guideline which should guide the acts of all political parties. Those who seeks to divide our people on the basis of religion, on the basis of caste or differences to which place one belongs, I think they do not serve the cause of national unity or national progress. We have to find practical, pragmatic pathways to deal with these tendencies which if not curbed can have destabilizing consequences. But I do recognize that we are a functioning democracy therefore, the internal cohesion, that I am talking about, cannot be forced. It cannot be imposed. That is not the way in which the Indian people wish to govern themselves. Therefore, all those who influence the mindsets of our people, whether they are in the academic institutions, whether they are in the media or other institutions, they have an obligation to lay proper emphasis on the need for a minimum amount of national discipline, if our country has to realize its ambitions to emerge as a great power.

So such internal cohesion in a democracy has to be consensually arrived at. That should be the aim of all social reform. Be it the reform of our personal laws, reform of our educational system, reform of our health care, reform of local government. All of these must be based on the idea of social inclusion.

I believe these are all important messages coming out of Satheji's book. I hope he will continue to write, continue to be actively engaged in the ongoing debates of our times. I wish him many more years of creativity and public involvement. With these I once again congratulate Satheji for having produced a very provocative and very inspiring book which I hope will be read widely and particularly by the young people who are the focus of his concentrated attention."