The Indian Prime Minster Dr. Manmohan Singh recently visited the United States, in what would be the 5th such time that US President Bush has hosted such an event to this magnitude. Indian flags lined Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues and flew atop Capitol Hill. More analysis on the visit later, but for now here is the complete transcript of the PM's address to a joint session of the US Congress.
“I deem it a great privilege to be invited to address this Joint Session of the US Congress. I thank you from the core of my heart for this invitation. I bring you the greetings and good wishes of our Parliament members and indeed of the entire Indian people. India and the United States have much in common that is very important to both our countries. You are the world's oldest democracy, we are its largest. Our shared commitment to democratic values and processes has been a bond that has helped us transcend differences, if any. We admire the creativity, the spirit of adventure and enterprise of the American people, the excellence of your institutions of learning, the openness of your economy, and of your ready embrace of diversity. These have attracted the brightest young minds from India, creating a bridge of understanding that transcends both distance and differences between us. In addition to the values we share as democracies, there is also a convergence in our perceptions of a rapidly transforming global environment, bringing us much closer together now than at any time in the past.
Globalisation has made the world so inter-dependent that none of us can ignore what happens elsewhere in any part of the world. Peace and prosperity are more indivisible than ever before in human history. As democracies, we must work together to create a world in which democracies can flourish. This is particularly important because we are today faced with new threats such as global terrorism, to which democracies are particularly vulnerable.
Indian democracy has been fashioned around India's civilisational ethos which celebrates diversity. Our society today is the culmination of centuries of assimilation of diverse people and ethnic groups. All the major religions of the world are represented in India. We have a tremendous diversity of languages, customs and traditions. The Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi called for universal adult franchise as early as 1931, long before India became independent. Our political leadership remained true to this commitment and the Constitution we adopted after Independence enshrined democracy based on free elections and the associated principles of tolerance of dissent, freedom for political activity, protection of human rights and commitment to the Rule of Law. Our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, acknowledged our debt to America on this score. He said that you could hear in the Constitution of India, the echo of the great voices of the Founding Fathers of your own Republic.
The real test of a democracy is not in what is said in the Constitution, but in how it functions on the ground. All Indians can be proud of what we have achieved in this area and I suggest that our experience in this regard is also relevant beyond our own boundaries. Free and fair elections are the foundations of a democracy. Over the past six decades, governments in India, at both the National and State level, have regularly sought the mandate of the people through elections.
Our elections are conducted under the supervision of a statutory independent Election Commission, which has earned respect for its fairness and transparency, both at home and abroad. The independent judiciary has been a zealous defender of our Constitution and a credible guarantor of the Rule of Law. The Press is a key institution in any democracy and our media has well-earned reputation for being both free and fearless. Our minorities, and we have many, participate actively in all walks of our national life - political, commercial and cultural. Civil society organisations are thriving and are vigilant in protecting fundamental human rights. They are also watchful of threats to our environment. Our Army has remained a professional force, subject to total civilian control.
Recently, the Constitution was amended to ensure constitutionally mandated elections to village and municipal councils. This process has produced no less than three million elected representatives in our country, with one million positions reserved for women. This has brought democracy closer to the people and also empowered our women and promoted gender balance.
Our commitment to democratic values and practices means that there are many concerns and perceptions that we share with the people of this great country. The most important concern is the threat of global terrorism. Democracy can only thrive in open and free societies. But open societies like ours are today threatened more than ever before by the rise of global terrorism. The very openness of our societies makes us more vulnerable, and yet we must deal effectively with the threat without losing the openness we so value and cherish. India and the United States have both suffered grievously from terrorism and we must make common cause against it. We know that those who resort to terror often clothe it in the garb of real or imaginary grievances. We must categorically affirm that no grievance can justify resort and recourse to terror.
Democracies provide legitimate means for expressing dissent. They provide the right to engage in political activity, and must continue to do so. However, for this very reason, they cannot afford to be soft on terror. Terrorism exploits the freedom our open societies provide to destroy these very freedoms we cherish. The United States and India must, therefore, work together in all possible forums to counter all forms of terrorism. We cannot be selective in this area. We must fight terrorism wherever it exists, because terrorism anywhere threatens democracy everywhere.
We know from experience that democratic societies which guarantee individual freedom and tolerance of dissent provide an environment most conducive to creative endeavour, and the establishment of socially just societies. We therefore have an obligation to help other countries that aspire for the fruits of democracy. Just as developed industrial countries assist those that are less developed to accelerate the pace of their social and economic development, democratic societies with established institutions must help those that want to strengthen democratic values and institutions. In this spirit, President Bush and I agreed yesterday on a joint global initiative to help build democratic capacities in all societies that seek such assistance.
The capacities we have in mind are those related to the electoral, parliamentary, judicial and human rights processes of emerging democracies. Respect for cultural diversity, minority rights and gender equality is an important goal of this important joint initiative.
Democracy is one part of our national endeavour. Development is the other. Openness will not gain popular support if an open society is not a prosperous society. This is especially so in developing countries, where a large number of people have legitimate material expectations which are to be and which must be met. That is why we must transform India's economy, to raise the standard of living of all our people and in the process eliminate poverty, ignorance and disease.
India's aspirations in this respect are not different from those of other developing countries. But I submit to you that we are unique in one respect. There is no other country of a billion people, with our tremendous cultural, linguistic and religious diversity, that has tried to modernise its society and transform its economy within the framework of a functioning democracy. To attempt this at our modest levels of per capita income is a major challenge. We are determined to succeed in this effort. We shall prevail.
To achieve our developmental goals, our policies and strategies must be in step with changed circumstances and especially the opportunities now available in the evolving global economy. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, standing at this very podium two decades ago, spoke of the challenge of building anew on old foundations. He started a process of reorienting India's economic policies, which has been continued by successive governments.
The economic policy changes that have been made in India have far-reaching implications. They have liberated Indian enterprise from government control and made our economy much more open to global flows of trade, capital and technology. Our entrepreneurial talent has been unleashed, and is encouraged to compete with the best in the world. We will continue this process so that Indian talent and enterprise can realise its full potential, enabling India to participate in the global economy as an equal partner.
We are often criticised for being too slow in making changes in policy, but democracy means having to build a consensus in favour of change. As elected representatives, you are all familiar with this problem in democratic societies. We have to assuage the doubts and calm the fears that often arise when people face the impact of change. There is such a thing as the fear of the unknown. Many of the fears we have to address are probably exaggerated, but they must be addressed nevertheless. This is necessary to ensure sustainability. India's economic reforms, therefore, must be seen in this light: they may appear slow, but I assure you they are durable and irreversible.
I am very happy to say that our efforts at transforming India into an economy more integrated with the world have borne fruit. Our rate of economic growth of GDP has increased steadily, and has averaged around 6.0% per annum over the past two decades. Poverty has declined although more slowly than we would like. We are determined to improve on this performance. We hope to raise our growth rate to 8% or more over the next two years, and we will ensure that this growth is "inclusive" so that its benefits are widely shared. For this we must act on several fronts. We must do much more in health and education, which are crucial for human development. We must continue to open up our economy. We must impart a new impetus to agricultural development. We must expand investment in economic infrastructure which is a critical constraint on our growth prospects.
India's growth and prosperity, I sincerely believe, is in America’s own interest. American investments in India, especially in the new technology areas, will help American companies to reduce costs and become more competitive globally. Equally, India's earnings from these investments will lead to increased purchases from the United States. The information technology revolution in India is built primarily on US computer related technology and hardware. There are many other examples of such two-way benefits, with both sides gaining from this process.
US firms are already leading the foreign investment drive in India. I believe 400 of the Fortune 500 are already in India. They produce for the Indian market and will hopefully also source supplies from India for their global supply chains. We welcome this involvement and I look forward to further expansion in the years ahead. India needs massive foreign direct investment, especially in modernising our infrastructure. I hope American companies will actively participate in the opportunities we are creating.
The 21st Century will be driven by knowledge-based production and India is well placed in this area. We have a large and relatively young population with a social tradition that values higher education. Our educated young people are also English speaking. This makes us potentially a highly attractive location for production of high-end services whether in software,
engineering design or research in pharmaceutical and other areas. Our laws on intellectual property rights have been recently amended to comply fully with our international obligations under the WTO. We look forward to attracting business in these areas from the United States."
