Speech of the Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, at the Presentation of the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development - 2006

Hon'ble Prime Minister,

Smt. Sonia Gandhiji, Chairperson of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust,

Professor Wangari Muta Maathai,

Smt. Sheila Dixit, Trustee of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure and privilege for me to present the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for the year 2006 to Professor Wangari Muta Maathai, who is well known internationally for her contribution to development and for her passionate commitment to the protection of the environment. I extend my heartiest congratulations to her for receiving this prestigious Prize.

Professor Maathai is no stranger to India. She was here earlier this year when the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding for 2005 was conferred on her. I welcome her as a friend of India.

The history of the human race is full of triumphs and achievements made in the quest for knowledge and in the search for a better life. Human history is also replete with the innumerable difficulties and dilemmas faced by mankind. The challenge of how to balance individual need as opposed to collective needs, the needs of the present generation as opposed to those of the future generations, has always confronted us. However, in history there have been human beings of exceptional stature who have done exemplary work in making the world a better place and in promoting a better understanding of the complex fabric of harmony between human beings and nature.

Smt. Indira Gandhi, the first and the only woman Prime Minister of India, was one such personality. Throughout her life she worked tirelessly for human dignity, eradication of poverty and harmony in the world.

Smt. Indira Gandhi symbolized the link between our freedom struggle and a free India seeking its place in the world. She closely witnessed and participated in the freedom struggle and was aware of the tremendous sacrifices made to gain Independence. She was firm in her resolve to take India forward and was the image of a progressive India seeking to use science and technology for advancing the nation in the areas of health, education and industry while being rooted in the culture and tradition of India.

Drawing on the old Indian concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam that is, the world is one family, Indiraji saw all of humanity as one and all the world as one, where living together harmoniously and peacefully was possible. Speaking in 1983, she said and I quote "Our world is small but it has room for all of us to live together in peace and beauty." She strove for building an equitable world and bringing the concerns of the developing countries, in particular eradicating poverty, to the forefront of the global agenda. She also understood the need to look at environmental issues. In 1972, at the First World Summit on Environment, Indiraji, as a visionary statesperson, expressed concern about the environment when global interest on the issue was still nascent.

The ideals and the vision of Smt. Indira Gandhi are as much relevant today as they were during her lifetime. She has been the source of inspiration for many women in India and the world over.

It is befitting that the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize is being conferred to Professor Wangari Muta Maathai, whose commitment to the cause of development, women's issues and the environment are praiseworthy. Her Green Belt Movement has succeeded in planting 300 million trees across Kenya to prevent soil erosion. She is now spearheading the United Nations Billion Tree Campaign. I am hopeful that India will contribute to increasing the forest cover on the Planet. We will be launching a major afforestation programme called "Green India" for planting trees in 6 million hectares of degraded forest land. This will probably be one of the world's largest afforestation efforts in recent times.

While receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Professor Maathai had called for "giving back to our children a world of beauty and wonder". For this to be achieved all the citizens of the world would have to work collectively, all stakeholders would need to join hands in adopting eco-friendly practices. For tackling climate change and Green House Gas emissions, we must work together to find pragmatic, practical solutions, which are for the benefit of the entire humankind. No strategy to deal with Climate Change should foreclose for the developing countries the possibilities of accelerated social and economic development. Professor Maathai, as the President of the Economics, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union, you are aware of the urgent need to address the "development deficit" in the global agenda. Developing countries, whether in Asia or Africa, need economic growth to provide to their people opportunities for decent lives. The needs and concerns of developing countries should be addressed in global trade negotiations as also in climate change discussions.

I conclude by, once again, conveying to Professor Maathai our congratulations and our appreciation for her work. I wish her success in her noble mission.

JAI HIND