• P.V. Narasimha Rao

The people of India pay homage today to the memory of the man who gave his life for them. He lived and worked untiringly for building a modern India. We look back with gratitude to the leader who gave us a vision to cherish and a mission to live up to.

He became Prime Minister in the wake of a great national and personal tragedy. Trauma and uncertainty threatened us when he was called upon to forget his personal grief and come forward to give strength and leadership to the people. He, as always, put the interests of his country and people above everything else. He restored the self-confidence that was his mother’s legacy to India and imbued the people with his own enthusiasm and sense of dedication to get down to the task of nation-building.

With his youthful vigour and dynamism, he set out to solve outstanding internal political problems. The Rajiv-Longowal’s Accord and the Assam Accord were arrived at early in his tenure as Prime Minister. While Sant Longowal’s assassination gave a setback to the Punjab Accord, the Assam situation has improved steadily over the years and holds out the hope of lasting peace.

Rajivji infused our economy with fresh vigour and purpose. The issue of economic development was brought to the centre-stage of national debate. He realised that India was compelled to compress the development that has taken place in other countries over a span of several hundred years into four or five decades. For this, wehave to change our way of thinking. We have to think boldly and in a revolutionary manner. This goal brooks no compromise. India must reach the front rank among nations.

He visualized a modern and dynamic India with a developed agriculture and industrial base, overcoming poverty, and providing equality of opportunity to all. He realized that this is possible only by spreading education and bringing the benefits of science and technology to every household. He believed firmly that the technology gap between India and the developed countries had to be bridged. The task before our scientists is not merely to develop the latest technologies in their laboratories and apply them in large industrial enterprises but also to ensure that the smallest worker and farmer is able to develop a scientific temper and is able to benefit from them in his field of work. Just as bridging the technology gap between the developed and developing countries is essential for eliminating poverty, bridging the technological gap within India is vital to its national purpose.

The formulation of the New Education Policy was an integral part of his vision of building a modern India. He wanted the education system to give children an orientation for the future. Developing a modern framework of mind was the fundamental thrust of this system, but without diluting the essential Indian and patriotic character of its broader concept. He wanted education to foster excellence, not for a few but for all. The goal in all this was to eliminate inequalities, and help the economically and socially weaker sections to gain upward mobility.

We are today going through a period of rapid economic change. Our trade and industrial policies have been reoriented to bring them in tune with the changing world situation and our own enhanced capabilities. Rajiv Gandhi had visualized the need for these changes early in his tenure as Prime Minister. Indeed, he had himself moved forward the process that had been initiated earlier in the decade by Smt. Indira Gandhi. As early as in 1985, he had said:

“In India we today need to interact with the world market, with world industry, and we realise that too much protection can be damaging to our industries. We look for improved technology, for domestic requirements, for better competitiveness, for better quality in our products, and above all, for a more efficient production process.”

He introduced a new long-term import-export policy. Several changes were made in Government rules, many new concepts were introduced. He recognized the need to start the process of opening up slowly to foreign competition so that our industry could learn to face and accept international standards. He was confident they would perform well. His confidence was not misplaced. The rate of growth of our exports and the GNP as a whole, fully vindicated his policy. It was this that encouraged him to incorporate the assurance of greater liberalization in the election manifesto of the Congress Party last year.

The Indian National Congress recently went through an invigorating process of organizational elections. The impetus for this as we all know came from him. He realized that elections within the party were necessary to strengthen its links with the people and revitalize its structure down to the grassroots level. This abiding faith in democracy as a political conviction and an article of personal faith was an ennobling feature of his character.

His tenure as Prime Minister saw a dramatic rise in India’s stature in international affairs. He brought his characteristic dynamism and innate humanism to bear on India’s performance in the world scene. His address to the UN Special Session on Disarmament, where he put forward a time-bound plan for global disarmament, revealed a commitment to world peace rooted in realism. He realized the inequities of the existing world economic order and the need for cooperation among the Third World countries to ensure a better deal for themselves. His initiative in setting up the Africa Fund was a concrete manifestation of his firm commitment to the anti-apartheid movement. His visit to China in 1988 opened the way for further dialogue and greater understanding between the two countries.

His concern for the understanding stemmed from his deep understanding of the lasting damage that could be caused by a rapacious exploitation of earth’s limited resources. He realized the need for evolving a pattern of sustainable development which would be environment-friendly and also meet the needs of the developing countries. His proposal for a Planet Protection fund has inspired deep thinking among nations.

He dedicated his life to the development and progress of our country. He wanted India to grow into a modern, forward-looking nation. He realized that modern technology is the key to lifting the masses of this country from the morass of poverty and unemployment. He worked indefatigably for these ideals, which remain today a precious legacy each Indian is heir to, and which each Indian has the capacity to prove himself worthy of.

Throughout the gloom and uncertainty after he left us, we have drawn sustenance from his memory and ideas. The Congress Manifesto he gave us in 1991 continues to be our guiding star. On this solemn occasion, let us resolve to follow in his footsteps steadily and steadfastly.