[BJP News]: Text of PM's speech at Pravasi Bharatiya Day

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Text of PM's speech at Pravasi Bharatiya Day >Thu, 9 Jan 2003 07:18:55

-0800 > >Welcome home, PM tells NRIs > > > > > > >Your Excellency, Sir Anerood

Jugnauth, Eminent representatives of the global Indian family, Distinguished

guests, > >My simple greeting to all of you here today is: Welcome home. Many

of you are citizens of your adopted countries. Over 20 million of you have set

up home in scores of countries, near and far. But each one of you shares a

common identity – your Indianness – and a common origin – this Motherland of

your forefathers. > >Therefore, this great gathering, which is the first of its

kind, is truly a homecoming. It is also a grand occasion for the country to pay

tribute to its sons and daughters who have succeeded in reaching the pinnacle

in so many diverse fields of human endeavour all over the world. > >There is

yet another important aspect of this unique celebration of the Pravasi

Bharatiya's association with his land of origin. Many of you – or your

forefathers – left India in search of fortune or a better livelihood. Today,

India has itself become a land of opportunity. > >We want to share with our

extended family our achievements, hopes, concerns, aspirations and goals. Your

awareness of our current national course and understanding of our perspectives

would enrich your bonds with India and heighten your sense of belonging in the

global Indian family. > >Friends, the odyssey of our people to the four corners

of the globe has been a saga of courage, enterprise and character. In ancient

times, our forefathers went to distant lands as traders, monks, teachers and

temple builders. > >A century and a half ago, Indian indentured labour was sent

forth to sugar, tea and rubber plantations in near and far-flung parts of the

British Empire. They worked on lands as far apart as Fiji and Mauritius,

Suriname and Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Burma, Guyana and Malaysia. The next wave

of emigration was of entrepreneurs and traders who sailed intrepidly into

uncharted waters for unknown countries. > >Since the 70's, young Indian

professionals have been migrating abroad to corporate boardrooms, research

laboratories, engineering workshops and university faculties. The emigration of

doctors, nurses, engineers, managers, plumbers, and electricians to West Asia

and the Gulf, has seen a steady growth. > >Today, the success of every category

of these emigrants all over the world testifies to the indomitable spirit, which

they carried from Indian soil. It is a tribute to their patience and forbearance

in the face of hardship, rebuke and denial. It speaks of their dedication to

their chosen professions, overcoming various trials and tribulations. >

>Friends, On this day, 88 years ago, Mahatma Gandhi returned to India after

nearly 20 years as a Pravasi Bharatiya in South Africa. His struggle against

discrimination, deprivation and exploitation of Indians in South Africa not

only fired the imagination of Indian patriots. It also inspired a spate of

freedom movements right across the African continent. Out of those freedom

movements emerged Pravasi Bharatiya heroes like Seewoosagar Ramgoolam of

Mauritius; Yusuf Dadoo and Monty Naicker of South Africa; Cheddi Jagan of

Guyana; Jagernath Lachmon of Suriname and many others. > >Not many people today

remember the painful Kamagatamaru episode of the early 20th century, when a

boatload of Sikhs from India were most brutally left to fend for themselves on

the high seas off the coast of Canada. Today, Sikhs are among the most

prosperous Canadians and are increasingly influential in Canadian politics. In

Ujjal Dossanj, we honour one such prominent Canadian figure. > >Even the

illiterate indentured plantation labourers empowered succeeding generations

through a determined pursuit of education. Sir Vidia Naipaul, Sir Anerood

Jugnauth, Dato Samy Vellu and millions of others are living symbols of the

transformation of an oppressed community to leaders of society in the space of

a few generations. > >Let us remember that, unlike the British, the French, the

Dutch and the Germans, India was never a maritime power. All the same, Indians

ventured forth across the seas to set up new homes in new lands. They went in

peace, often with nothing more than faith in their destiny. No country can

claim that Indians entered its territory in the spirit of colonialism. This

also is a glorious tribute to you and your forefathers. Few people who entered

foreign lands can claim such a testimony. > >Friends, Pandit Nehru once

remarked that wherever there is a Indian, a bit of India goes with him. Pravasi

Indians have truly taken India abroad – Indian culture, Indian society and

Indian traditions, not to mention Indian films and Indian cuisine! The outside

world has also attracted the best Indian talents, skills, brains and abilities

– like Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati; E C G Sudarshan and S Chandrashekhar;

Hargobind Khorana and Zubin Mehta. > >The Pravasi Bharatiya family today also

includes: Indian writers in English with an international readership,

Entrepreneurs and industrialists with a global reach of operations, Management

and lifestyle gurus with a huge following, Filmmakers, sportspersons, artists

and performers of great popularity. > >They have dramatically changed the

world's perception of Indians, and hence of India. They have provoked a new

appreciation of this land which has produced and exported so many achievers.

They have built bridges of understanding between the international community

and India. > >The benchmarks for success, which the Pravasi community has set,

are a challenge for us in India. They make us examine why the Indian is so much

more innovative, productive and successful abroad than in his own country. >

>They prod us to create a business, investment and economic climate, which is

as conducive to success as anywhere else in the world. > >I assure you that we

are fully committed to creating such an environment in India. We are

modernising our infrastructure. Our telecom facilities are already as good as

anywhere in the world. > >The combination of India-based IT companies and

Indian professionals abroad, have made India a premier software power. We are

building world-class highways through our National Highway Development Project.

Our rural roads network is being upgraded. We have ambitious plans for airports,

ports, and railways. Housing construction has acquired an unprecedented speed. >

>Literacy, especially women's literacy, has registered a marked rise over the

last decade. We are aware of the slow progress in several areas of our social

sector development, but we are determined to move faster than before. All in

all, we are guided by the ambitious goal of making India a Developed Nation by

2020, free from all vestiges of poverty and full of opportunities for all our

one billion people. > >We would like to create an environment in India which

will make you want to return, not just for sentimental or emotional reasons,

but in the conviction that you can excel in this country as much as you could

anywhere else in the world. > >I believe that the Pravasi Bharatiya can be a

catalyst for rapid change in this direction. Each of you, through your network

of friends, relatives and acquaintances can create a strong urge for change in

India. > >Our collective attention needs to be rescued from the sterile

controversies and trivial issues that dominate the headlines, and focused on

the real tasks to be accomplished, so that India can catch up with the

developed world. At the same time, you can project the truth about India to the

world in a credible and effective manner. Misleading, one-sided and negative

pictures are often put out due to bias, ignorance or design. Your familiarity

with the Indian reality and with the perspectives of your adopted society

equips you to correct such misrepresentations. You could project a positive

image of India -- not as propaganda, but as a true reflection of the reality on

the ground. > >For example, India continues to have one of the fastest growing

economies, at a time when most developed economies have slowed down. Our

exports grew by 19 per cent, in spite of a global slowdown and a strong rupee.

Till recently, India needed to import food grain to feed its population. Last

year, we exported food grain worth over 60 billion rupees to 25 countries. >

>About a decade ago, we had to mortgage our gold to tide over a difficult

Balance of Payments crisis. Today, we have record foreign exchange reserves of

nearly $70 billion. How often have we seen such facts quoted outside the

country? It is far more likely that mindless political gossip or isolated acts

of crime and violence would dominate the headlines around the world. >

>Friends, India has been deeply appreciative of the support of the Pravasi

Bharatiya community, at times of need. Whenever India has faced a challenge to

its security or to its territorial integrity, you have tirelessly championed

its cause. > >When there was an effort to isolate India after our nuclear tests

of 1998, you came forward to stand by India. Your enthusiastic response to our

Resurgent India Bonds in 1998 helped us raise over 4 billion dollars, when we

needed it most. Many of you have been generously helping the schools, colleges,

IITs and universities, as their grateful alumni. I commend this gesture of Guru

Dakshina. > >Some of you have met me with interesting suggestions on how to

expand the scope of Pravasi Bharatiya involvement in the development of India's

educational infrastructure. The Ministry of Human Resource Development also has

taken some initiatives in this direction. Since education is going to be one of

the main competitive strengths of India in the emerging Knowledge Society, let

us work together to seize the opportunity. > >In this context, I will take the

luxury of offering a word of advice. The Indian community abroad often reflects

the diversity, which is the hallmark of our society here. We are proud of this

diversity - whether it is linguistic, religious or regional. Groupings like the

Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi and Marathi associations serve a useful purpose in

preserving linguistic skills and regional cultures. But it is also necessary to

strengthen the broader Indian identity in the country of your residence. > >When

you are united as Indians, your voice carries greater weight: both for

highlighting issues of your concern in your host country, and for promoting

Indian causes. This is a truth of great long-term significance for Indian

communities everywhere. > >I have always been conscious of the need for India

to be sensitive to the hopes, aspirations and concerns of its vast diaspora. It

is like a parental charge. It is also a obligation derived from our

civilizational heritage. It was with this perspective that we set up a High

Level Committee, headed by Dr Laxmi Mall Singhvi, to examine all matters

relating to the interaction of the community with India. I would like to

congratulate Dr Singhvi and his colleagues for the thorough and exhaustive

nature of their report. > >The idea of celebrating the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

annually flows from the recommendations of the Committee. The revised and

improved scheme for PIO Cards is also based on the ideas of the Committee. >

>Friends, Indians who have chosen to settle in foreign lands should be loyal to

their country of adoption. The biggest challenge facing every immigrant

community is to integrate harmoniously into the political, economic and social

life of the host society, while preserving and cherishing its civilizational

heritage. > >Over the years, Indians have achieved this delicate balance

virtually everywhere, without a contradiction between their adopted citizenship

and their original Indian identity. It is in this background that my government

has decided to accept the High-level Committee's recommendation to permit dual

citizenship for People of Indian Origin living in certain countries. We are now

working on the administrative regulations and procedures governing dual

citizenship. We will introduce the necessary legislation during the Budget

Session of Parliament. > >The NRI of today is the Pravasi Bharatiya of

tomorrow. The welfare of NRIs in the Gulf region is of utmost concern to us. A

compulsory insurance scheme for Indian workers migrating to this region will be

unveiled shortly. Parliament is already considering a bill to establish a

welfare fund for the overseas Indian workers. To meet the educational needs of

children of workers in the Gulf, we plan to reserve a certain proportion of

seats in our academic institutions for the children of the Gulf NRIs. >

>Friends, Our preparations for this first Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, and the

encouraging response to it, have convinced us of the fruitfulness of this

event. We will continue to engage closely with the communities of Indian

origin. For this, we are setting up an Advisory Committee, which will meet

periodically to suggest new initiatives to the Minister of External Affairs. >

>We are prepared to respond to your expectations from India. We invite you, not

only to share our vision of India in the new millennium, but also to help us

shape its contours. We do not want only your investment. We also want your

ideas. > >We do not want your riches, we want the richness of your experience.

We can gain from the breadth of vision that your global exposure has given you.

> >When you left this country, you carried with you the primary colours of the

Indian ethos. A cross-fertilization of cultures over time has added new shades

to those vibrant hues. Today we invite you to brush in some of these new

colours onto the ever-evolving canvas of India's development. Thank you. > >

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