Speech by Hon'ble President of India, Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil, at the Indian Community Reception in London

Fellow citizens and friends,

I extend my warm greetings to all of you. I am delighted that my first official engagement during my State Visit to the United Kingdom is with members of the Indian community. This fact by itself denotes the importance my Government attaches to our relations with the Indian diaspora.

The UK is host to more than one and a half million citizens of Indian origin, representing 2 percent of the population and who, I am told, are contributing 4 to 5 percent to the GDP here. Clearly, your involvement in the economic, social and political life of this country has been positively significant. Your hard work and constructive attitude has won you appreciation both in the country of your adoption and the country of your origin.

Even before we achieved Independence, the voices of Indians in Britain were heard not only from the educational institutions or debating fora in which they played prominent roles, but also from the very heart of democracy in the UK, the House of Commons. We salute statesmen like Dadabhai Naoroji, who was the first Asian Member of Parliament, representing the Finsbury Central constituency in 1892. We are proud that more than a century later today, there are over two dozen members of Indian origin in the Houses of Lords and Commons, representing all the three major British political parties.

We are aware of the role played by the first wave of immigrants from India, many from the Punjab, to the UK. They formed the backbone of the industrial workforce of this country and played a stellar role in rebuilding Britain's war-ravaged economy. For that you are all rightly honoured here. There are others among you whose families have overcome tremendous hardships as you made your way from areas of India such as Gujarat and Maharashtra to East Africa, and then, to the UK. You have worked hard and, today, there are many among you who are leaders in the world of business and finance. We recognize your achievements.

We also applaud those here today who are from the social services sectors. The contribution made by doctors and teachers from India to the public services in the UK, especially the National Health Service, has been significant. When we hear the Prime Minister of Great Britain, His Excellency Mr Gordon Brown, mention the excellent treatment he personally received from by an Indian-origin doctor in the NHS, we feel proud of all of you!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Education linkages are an important pillar of our relationship, and the two countries have identified it as a priority area for co-operation. Our interaction in this field though it existed even during the pre-Independence period is important. Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, studied law in this very city of London as did Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India. The architect of India's Constitution, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, was a student at the London School of Economics.

Significant contributions have been made over a period of time, by Indian-origin teachers and scientists to the development of educational institutions in the UK. Most recently, we were delighted at the news of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry being conferred on Dr. Venkataraman Ramakrishnan, an Indian-origin scientist currently working at the University of Cambridge. He is here today and we all congratulate him. In the world of knowledge, we are proud of scientific, intellectual and literary achievements of Indians, whether living in India or overseas.

India has one of the youngest populations in the world. This is our greatest advantage in this century. I am happy to see that among the younger generation of our diaspora in the UK, there are many who are active not only in the traditional areas of the economy, healthcare and education, but also in culture, media and politics. In a way, this marks the coming of age of our younger generation here. In the years to come, this generation will be a vital bridge between our two countries.

I have met many youth groups of Indian origin from different countries at Rashtrapati Bhavan. I always tell them that they should maintain linkages with the country of their forefathers and build bonds of friendship with the youth of India. I also tell them about India's remarkable economic growth in the last decades. Indeed, even during the global financial and economic crisis, we were able to grow at more than 6 percent. Today, we are one of the major economies of the world and our weightage is only likely to grow further. Our conduct as the world's largest democracy has also been impeccable. We have demonstrated an uninterrupted adherence to respecting the mandates of elections. We are a stable country with an attractive market. In the global arena, we have been responsible and have constantly upheld human values as well as sought to create a more peaceful, prosperous and just world. All this has given to India a special stature in the world.

Our focus for the future is to expand economic opportunities for all our people and propel the economy towards higher growth rate. We are in the process of undertaking a massive expansion of our infrastructure and to achieve energy security, food security and enhance welfare activities. I am confident that Indians living overseas will join in the endeavour to contribute to India's growth. As members of the Indian diaspora, you know better than others the challenges and opportunities that a resurgent India represents.

Today, the Indian Diaspora is estimated at about 25 million. We seek to engage and interact directly and substantively with them. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has been created to provide support and services to persons of Indian origin. Every year the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is held and I myself have had the pleasure of inaugurating this annual meeting.

Dear Friends,

The future beckons all of us. We must work in our individual ways to contribute to the objective of building a great and dynamic India, which will be one of the mainstays of the emerging global order. I wish all of you, greater success and progress in your lives.

Jai Hind.