India and Sri Lanka: friends and neighbours
Excerpts of the speech by Dr. Karan Singh, MP, President, Indian
Council for Cultural Relations at the First Lakshman Kadirgamar
Commemorative Lecture, at the Bandaranaike Memorial International
Conference Hall on Thursday.
SPEECH: I am delighted to be in Sri Lanka again, revisiting
this beautiful country after many years. I hold fond memories of this
land and its peoples, many of who are dear friends.
Being here in this verdant city of Colombo makes me recall Pandit
Nehru's words of praise for this country, "It is ever afternoon there as
the summer breezes blow and rustle through the graceful palm trees."
I am honoured to address this distinguished audience gathered in
homage to the memory of the late Lakshman Kadirgamar, one of the
greatest sons of independent Sri Lanka.
His contribution to Sri Lanka's dignified, determined and democratic
response to the challenge of terrorism is immeasurable, as is his
contribution to the development of relations with India, both as Foreign
Minister and as Advisor on Foreign Policy to former President Chandrika
Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.
It is to him that we owe the phrase 'irreversible excellence' that we
often use to describe the current status of our ties.
Sri Lanka and India are pluralistic global communities that share
much in common - our antiquity and traditions, our plurality and
diversity, our commitment to democracy and human rights.
We are inextricably intertwined in many ways - in history, in
culture, in religion, in commerce and politics. Our sharing has roots
that go down deep, to our creation-tales, myths and narratives. Our
mythical histories are as rich as our actual ones.
We have legends and tales for every occasion to enrich our lives. Let
us recall that the two great religions that flourish in Sri Lanka -
Buddhism and Shaivite Hinduism - originated in India, as did your two
great communities - the Sinhalese and the Tamils.
Let us also recall that the great Indian Emperor Ashoka sent his own
son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitta to spread Buddhism in Sri Lanka in
246 BC. These are links which will forever endure, regardless of
political and other factors.
Here I may mention something which will be of interest to Sri Lankans.
In the Ramayana - although its author was Maharshi, Valmiki, an Indian -
it seems clear that Sri Lanka was much more prosperous than India.
It was referred to as Swarnamayi Lanka (the golden Lanka), and
contains graphic descriptions of the beautiful palaces and buildings
that existed there several millennia ago.
Another significant fact is that though King Ravana was a sworn enemy
of Sri Rama, and ultimately met death at his hands, he was respected as
a profound scholar and a great devotee of Lord Shiva.
Indeed, although we have no extant writings of Sri Rama, a glorious
Sanskrit hymn by Ravana addressed to Shiva as Nataraja, Lord of the
Cosmic Dance, is still recited in thousands of temples and homes in
India, and surely in Sri Lanka also.
This clearly shows that our culture does not allow even the severest
differences to cloud the intellectual and spiritual stature of our
deadly opponents, what to say of our friends.
India and Sri Lanka are pluralistic societies - multi-regional,
multi-linguistic, multi-cultural and multi-religious. India sustains
itself through a gamut of languages that derive from the same roots and
yet maintain thier rich flavours.
The same, on a smaller scale, is the case in Sri Lanka. We are
culturally diverse communities, which believe in mutual respect and
sensitivity to the variety and multiplicity that is an integral part of
our nature, our society and our inheritance.
Indeed, the common strains between Sri Lanka and India's forms of
dance, music, musical instruments, literatures, religions, food, fabric,
apparel, and so on, are living proof of the sharing that is so much a
part of our mutual heritage.
We in India firmly believe in the strategic role that we are required
to play in today's rapidly changing world.
As a multi-cultural civilisation with rich repositories of memories,
refinement and values that are mature and distilled, we see ourselves as
bearers of foundational ideals of special relevance to the modern world,
ideas which demand a blend of the ancient and the contemporary, of the
old and the new, of the past and the future.
India is a model for pluralistic unity. Multiplicity is embedded in
every aspect and detail of our live sand behaviour. This respect and
sensitivity to diversity, and a conscious decision to allow for the
freedom of variety to coexist peaceably and with dignity, is also
enshrined in the Constitution of our country.
Relations between India and Sri Lanka are built on a solid bedrock of
common culture, common spiritual values, a shared commitment to
democracy and to independence in the conduct of foreign policy.
As colonised nations in a post-colonial present, both India and Sri
Lanka are boldly facing challenges that the global world presents today.
We are consciously building on a common developmental experience. It
is India's policy to maintain close, cordial and cooperative relations
with Sri Lanka at both the popular and governmental levels.
As the late Shri Rajiv Gandhi said: "It is not mere geographical
proximity which binds us. Ours is a relationship of heart and mind,
finding expression in history and philosophy, literature and art, and in
our contemporary concerns and daily lives."
Today, more than ever, the bandwidth of our engagement for mutual
benefit is wide and comprehensive. Our bilateral economic relations have
shown considerable dynamism and innovation in the SAARC region, setting
a benchmark for other countries to follow. The frequent high-level
political dialogue between our two leaderships reflects our close ties.
We have an obvious interest in the ethnic issue, given that India is
Sri Lanka's closest neighbour and we are culturally connected
communities across the Palk Straits. India steadfastly supports the
efforts being made by the government and people of Sri Lanka to
consolidate the processes of peace and development in their country.
India's support for a comprehensive negotiated settlement acceptable
to all communities, and reflecting the pluralistic nature of Sri Lankan
society, within the framework of a united and democratic Sri Lanka,
remains undiluted.
We appreciate your efforts to build a national consensus on a
solution within a united Sri Lanka and on the basis of maximum
devolution. We stand ready to share with you our own experience of unity
in diversity, plural democracy and devolution.
Our experience is that power sharing is a necessity for the effective
management of diversity and pluralism in a multi-ethnic society. It is
also necessary for the full enjoyment of democracy as well as maximum
participation in the vast enterprise of development.
A model of plural democracy and devolution has been implemented in
India which has stood the test of time, and its principles and benefits
are surely relevant to Sri Lanka as well. We in India have also
struggled with terrorism and the forces of separatism, having lost two
Prime Ministers to the forces of fanaticism.
We are of the view that firmness combined with dialogue and
communication is the only way to overcome such aberrations. In the
immortal words of the Buddha, "Hatred is never banished by hatred.
Hatred is banished only by love. This is the eternal law."
Acts of violence targeting innocent victims can have no justification
or rationale. There is no grievance that can make us accept such
behaviour, political thesis or claim of "root causes" can be an adequate
justification for terrorist actions.
Our opposition to terrorism has to be firm and unwavering, resisting
any temptation to compromise for tactical or political ends. Terrorism
seeks to exploit the space offered by democratic societies, and to
mislead those who equate accommodation and tolerance with weakness.
We must not, however, allow terrorism to succeed in undermining the
ancient humanist and civilizational values of South Asia, foremost among
them being the celebration of diversity and the acceptance of pluralism
as an existential necessity.
The loss of Lakshman Kadirgamar shows that today, if there is fuller
awareness of the dangers that threaten us, it has not been without a
terrible price. The price has been paid, but the sacrifice must not be
in vain.
We have to build a new world from the debris of the past and harness
all our creative energies at many levels in this effort, overcoming
age-old conflicts of boundaries and borders between and within nations.
Our Regional Association - SAARC - should develop along the lines of
the European Union, one of the most remarkable and positive developments
of the twentieth century. Lakshman Kadirgamar's vision for bilateral and
regional cooperation across South Asia must continue to guide us.
India and Sri Lanka relations have a special role in the vast and
nobel enterprise of South Asian regional integration.
There is no doubt that our people have benefited and will continue to
do so from expanding trade and economic cooperation. Closer connectivity
and interaction between our two economies is the way to a bright future
of shared prosperity.
To our traditional development partnership, anchored in lines of
credit, grant assistance and scholarships, we have recently added a
framework or executing community-oriented small development projects.
Our intention is to orient part of our assistance towards small
scale, grassroot projects with a short gestation period, thus
benefitting underprivileged communities.
Closer connectivity, interdependence and harmonization at the
economic level between our two countries is the pattern that we seek for
the future, the goal being the alleviation and finally abolition of
poverty which resulted from centuries of colonial domination and
exploitation.
India and Sri Lanka are natural partners with a shared destiny. We
need to work together to tackle international issues affecting us -
poverty, climate change, terrorism, migration as well as economic growth
and prosperity.
India is the world's largest democracy, and is emerging as a
significant economic power, especially in the areas of IT, with
significant achievements in many frontier areas of technology. Its
middle class today numbers close to 300 million, and is growing.
As one of the largest markets in the world, India seeks to strengthen
its economic interaction with the rest of the world. India and Sri Lanka
can be partners in the building of a new global order based on
prosperity, respect for human rights, tolerance, plurality and
diversity, and the democratic order.
The India-Sri Lanka relationship is a model for the region. Our
constant attempt is to look for mutually beneficial partnerships in
diverse fields of activity, build even greater understanding and explore
ways to bring our peoples even closer together.
As plural nations both India and Sri Lanka seek to forge strong
national identities while at the same time highlighting our common
points, our shared memories and experiences.
This awareness should be the lodestar in our quest for an even deeper
and stronger friendship, with the potential to become the foundation for
a region of peace and harmony.
In a world that is under continuous thereat of becoming more rigid,
inflexible and unyielding, we, as Indians, believe not in the clash but
in the confluence of civilizations. We trust that Sri Lanka, as a friend
and neighbour to India and as an important player in the global world,
believes in this too.
I wish the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of Strategic Studies and
International Relations, inaugurated this morning by the President,
every success.
I trust that this Institute will help to further expand understanding
of the very significant trends and developments in our region and the
world, and provide space for academics to reflect together on how best
to advance the community of our shared interests.
Let me conclude, as I began, with the words of Jawaharlal Nehru when
he spoke at a public reception in Colombo in January 1950: ".... it
seems to be quite inevitable and right that there should be the closest
relationship and cooperation between India and Sri Lanka. Geography
compels it. Our history and common culture make it inevitable...."
Let that spirit of kinship continue to guide us in our journey
forward with peace, boundless goodwill, friendship and mutual
understanding as our constant companions and let us work for a closer
partnership between our two countries in the cause of peace, democracy
and development. |