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“I am pleased to be here with all of you at
this Global Convention on Peace and Non-Violence,
which is inspired by the teachings of Mahatma
Gandhi. My hearty greetings to all the
participants. A warm welcome to all our esteemed
friends from abroad. Like many of you, I often
wonder: Why is it that the passage of time –
indeed, the passage of over a half century now –
has not reduced the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi
for India and for the entire world? Why do we feel
that Gandhiji’s place in history is in its future,
and not in its past? The answer is obvious.
Mahatma Gandhi embodied the eternal and universal
values of mankind. He not only preached these
values, but also lived them. In the end, like many
great souls in the past, he also died for them.
And in dying for them, he immortalized the message
of his life.
Gandhiji devoted his life to three main causes.
Two of them were largely focused on India: India’s
independence from colonial rule and India’s social
transformation – be it in the field of social
equality, communal harmony, education, dignity of
labour, and Antyodaya or the concern for the last
man on the socio-economic ladder. What he did in
these two areas has an enduring significance for
us in India. It also has a strong appeal for many
thinking people around the world.
But the kernel of his life’s message, which
makes that message eternal and universal, and
which made Mohandas Gandhi into a Mahatma, is
Peace and Non-Violence. The immense moral force
and the unwavering consistency with which he
championed the imperative of peace and
non-violence – both in the immediate neighbourhood
and in the world at large -- brought hope to a
mankind battered by wars and conflicts. Along with
other champions of peace and humanism in the
world, he contributed to mankind’s regaining of
faith in itself.
Many people, including peace-loving people, are
often tempted to think that Gandhiji’s ideal of
peace is just an illusion, with no chance of ever
becoming a reality. This is because, the world
continues to be scarred and wounded by violence in
many forms. However, the mere continuation of
violence cannot negate the need for non-violence.
Rather, it provides an added reason and imparts
further urgency to our search for peace.
Echoing the belief of all humanistic thinkers
around the world, Gandhiji insisted that violence
is not the natural state of human existence. Men
and societies yearn for life without violence.
Their most mundane needs as well as their deepest
aspirations can be fulfilled only in conditions of
peace. Sometimes, nations may go to war, and some
groups may fight with each other. But sooner or
later, they realize the futility of bloodshed and
the utility of dialogue.
Distinguished friends, the point I wish to make
is that the contest between violence and peace
need not be a never-ending refrain in the song of
humanity’s future. This may sound like an
audacious statement, more akin to wishful thinking
than to man’s historical experience. But I believe
that there are certain objective factors in modern
history that have strengthened the forces of peace
relative to the forces of violence.
The first among these peace-enhancing objective
factors is the power of democracy. When more and
more people participate in the affairs of a nation
and in determining what should be done and should
not be done, the chances of their opting for a
peaceful course are always greater than otherwise.
In the latter half of the 20th century, not only
has the power of democracy grown worldwide; but
several international and multilateral
institutions working on democratic principles have
also been founded. The UN and its affiliate
organizations are the most important among them.
For the first time in human history, so many
people, their governments and other representative
organizations across the world are engaged in
dialogue, interaction, cooperation, and
conflict-resolution. Even at the level of civil
society, never in the past had so many citizens
and their non-governmental organizations belonging
to different countries and communities been
interacting with each other so extensively as they
are doing now. For example, a global convention of
this kind on peace and non-violence was
unthinkable in the past. I think that this
self-assertion of democratic power augurs well for
peace in the world of tomorrow.
There is a second factor. In the past fifty
years, the international community has debated and
adopted many treaties for peace and disarmament –
bilaterally, regionally and in the United Nations.
The importance of these treaties should not be
belittled. No doubt, all countries should act upon
these treaties with sincerity. In this, great
powers have a greater responsibility than others
to act with responsibility and self-restraint.
Collectively, we must take the world swiftly
towards the goal of disarmament and, specifically,
elimination of all weapons of mass destruction in
the 21st century.
The existence of the United Nations is perhaps
the single most important reason why the world has
been able to prevent major wars from breaking out
after World War II. However, the UN system needs
to be reformed and restructured to accurately
reflect contemporary realities as well as to make
it more effective in dealing with the challenges
of today’s world. Recent global developments have
sharply illustrated this need.
The third peace-enhancing objective factor is
that both technology and trade have made the world
much more inter-dependent, integrated and smaller
than we could have ever imagined. Today people and
nations know more about one another than they ever
did in the past. They meet each other in those
events of sports, culture, entertainment, and
economic relationship, which did not happen so
much in the past. They communicate to each other
through mass media, in ways that were unimaginable
in the past. It is said that the world has shrunk
to a “Global Village”. I can say from the Indian
experience – and this is perhaps also the
experience of villages worldwide – that the people
of a village know how to live together in peace
and how to resolve conflicts through dialogue, by
showing sensitivity to each other’s genuine
concerns.
It is, of course, true that the modern world is
seeing new threats to peace. Terrorism inspired by
religious extremism is one of them. Perhaps no
country has suffered as much from this threat as
India has. The threat of terrorism has to be dealt
with firmly – both through the action of
individual nations and through international
solidarity. However, I am confident that this is a
passing phase and the world’s collective efforts
will succeed in dealing with this menace. Among
other things, my optimism lies in the fact that
all the religions and cultures of the world have
enshrined peace and non-violence as their guiding
principles.
Friends, we in India are inheritors to a great
civilization whose life chant has been “Shanti” –
that is, Peace – and “Bhaichara” – which means,
Brotherhood. India has never been an aggressor
nation, a colonizer or a hegemon in her long
history. In modern times, we are alive to our
responsibility to contribute to peace, friendship
and cooperation both in our region and around the
world.
India has always believed in having peaceful,
friendly and cooperative relations with all her
neighbours. We are happy that the 12th Summit of
SAARC nations, which was held in Islamabad early
this month, was a major step forward in regional
cooperation.
As I said at the summit, we have to change
South Asia’s image and standing in the world. We
must make the bold transition from mistrust to
trust, from discord to concord, and from tension
to peace. It is in the same spirit that my
Government has been trying to resolve all the
outstanding issues with Pakistan through dialogue.
With these words, I inaugurate this convention
and wish it success. I am sure that the cause of
peace around the world will be advanced by the
good thoughts shared by all the esteemed
participants.
Thank you”. | 
