Demographic trends and historical traditions have come together to make India, along with the United States, China, Europe, Japan and Russia, among the key players of this century

His Excellency K. Natwar Singh, India’s minister of external affairs delivered an address, titled “The Argument for India,” at Brown University RI on Friday, September 23. This was Mr.Singh’s only major public speech during his official visit to the United States to participate in the annual UN General Assembly session. This event was attended by over 600 people

K. Natwar Singh has served India during a distinguished career that spans more than a half century. Educated at the University of Delhi, Cambridge University, and Peking University, Singh first joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1953, eventually rising to the rank of India’s ambassador to Poland from 1971 to 1973 and ambassador to Pakistan from 1982 to 1984. In the intervening years, he was the high commissioner to Zambia and deputy high commissioner to the United Kingdom. Singh also spent many years with India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, where he represented India in the General Assembly, the Executive Board of UNICEF, the UN’s Institute for Training and Research, and later as president of the UN Conference on Disarmament and Development.

During his speech, Singh addressed the complex phenomenon that is India and made the case for why  India’s  achievements have a larger relevance to the international community. He reflected on India’s vibrant democracy and pluralism and its growing global economic presence. In addition, Singh  emphasized the importance of Indian secularism as a defense against terrorism and extremism.

India has a larger message for the world, one that acquires even greater relevance as we demonstrate an ability to meet major challenges of our times.

Here is an exceprt from his speech

India , so fascinating and yet so incomprehensible to many, is today emerging from the recesses of history and assuming a prominent place in the global arena. It seeks to be understood better but its unique nature makes that very process a challenging endeavour. India’s rise, for example, has not been an exercise in assertion on past traditional patterns in world history. Instead, it has been incremental to the point of being imperceptible, and natural enough to be harmonious. Demographic trends and historical traditions have come together to make India, along with the United States, China, Europe, Japan and Russia, among the key players of this century.

When India became independent 58 years ago, we made decisions that, even in retrospect, can only be described as incredibly brave. Consider that we were emerging from two centuries of colonial rule and poverty, illiteracy and obscurantism were still rife. Yet, as early as 1931, Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian leadership chose to opt for a democratic form of Government with universal adult franchise as its basis. It was this bold step that actually took democracy beyond its Euro-Atlantic confines and gave it a universal character.  Elections over the years at various levels have strengthened people’s self-perception as stakeholders in the system. Democracy also facilitated the rapid dissolution of kingdoms and princely states that dotted the Indian map when the British finally left and thereby, laid the foundation for a modern state.

The building of a democratic India has not been an easy exercise. There is no historical precedent for a billion people determining their collective destiny through a mechanism of consent. There is no blueprint or textbook that sets out a road map. We have improvised along our way, trusting to the innate wisdom of our people. It is one of the great wonders of our time that a largely illiterate society – only 14% were educated in 1947- could address their problems with such maturity and moderation. Some credit must go as well to the manner in which traditional ways, particularly village-level self-government, have been adapted to address contemporary challenges. Our approach also took into account that centralised prescriptions are not always the most effective for problem solving. Establishing democratic structures and making them durable was highly dependent on effectively utilizing local and regional knowledge that is ingrained in every society.
Elections in India currently encompass an electorate of almost 700 million. It is a political statistic not easy to digest. Equally worth noting is that these votes have often resulted in changes of Government at both the federal and state level. It is the peaceful transfer of power that is the true test of democracy. Not all societies claiming to be one have passed it. India has- with flying colours! The Indian experiment has broken new ground in many ways. Over the last half century, dissidents - regional, ethnic, religious or socio-economic- have found an accommodating political culture that has aided their return to the mainstream. We have even had occasions when those who took up arms against the Indian State finally joined democratic politics and assumed leadership responsibilities. 

Democracy and secularism have not only been values that have sustained the development of modern India. They have also provided effective defences against terrorism unleashed by ideologies of intolerance and fundamentalism. India’s battle in that regard predates 9/11 and no country has paid a higher price to safeguard its core democratic beliefs. Our ability to rise to this challenge has depended on the denial of ground fertile for the spread of such extremist thinking. This was made possible! because all sections of India believed that their grievances can be addressed through the democratic process
The expansion of the Indian economy and its closer linkages with the global one also has profound regional repercussions. Within South Asia itself, India with a 7-8% growth rate is clearly the motor of development and many of its neighbours can reap benefits by taking advantage of expanding opportunities. Obviously, this is a choice that they themselves have to make and some have done so.
An India benefiting from global processes will naturally be encouraged to contribute more to the international community. We have a record of doing our best even in the past when our means were far more limited. Today, India can bear much greater responsibilities. We have historically been major contributors to UN peacekeeping operations and will continue to remain so. It is apparent that over the next decade, the major countries influencing the direction of global development would include the United States, the EU, Russia, Japan, China, and India. No country, however powerful, can shoulder global burdens in their entirety. India’s objective is to establish the best of ties with these five key nations and we have succeeded to considerable measure.

The United States has been an important focus of our efforts at reshaping the diplomatic landscape. Landmark agreements reached in July have the potential to fundamentally redefine our ties. Understandings in the field of energy, technology access, investment and trade, agriculture and health are testimony to a rapidly broadening agenda of cooperation. Our relationship has begun to translate into a larger global partnership. The EU, like the US, is an important source of trade, technology, and investment. The ambit of our cooperation is steadily expanding and we have strengthened our political understanding. Russia is a traditional friend and remains a major partner in security, defense, and technology. We share a strong interest in combating fundamentalist terrorism. Our ties with Japan are growing in substance and are particularly relevant to addressing infrastructural challenges. We are committed to ensuring the security of sea lanes as well. China, our largest neighbor, is a nation with whom we have had a history that has not been easy. Both countries have taken a forward-looking approach and our trade, in particular, has expanded dramatically. With each of these partners, our relationship will grow depending on how they contribute to peace and stability in South Asia, respond to India’s core concerns, and meet our larger aspirations.

An inter-dependent world requires a more consensual decision-making process. We can arrive at cooperative management only if there is an agreement on fundamentals. Learning from each other and exchanging best practices can be rewarding for all of us. India’s record and experience allows it to make a significant contribution to this debate. We represent the importance of choice. Our pursuit of development has not been at the cost of human freedoms. India exists because of its moderation and preference for the middle path. We are a society at different levels simultaneously, and probably confusing to those comfortable in less dimensions. We have our warts but equally, a capability for internal correctives. Understanding India requires patience, but those who do value our durability and sustainability. India is a constant exercise in introspection that does not always lead to definitive conclusions.

Mr Singh concluded by saying  “For all these reasons and more, our joining the front ranks of global powers will be a harmonious process, greeted not by apprehension but more by warmth and perhaps some curiosity. The argument for India is that argumentative people, difficult as they are, embody virtues and habits make the world a better and safer place.

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