vivek
June 11th, 2003, 05:05 AM
This is taken from an old speech given by a late PM in 1979 on independence day. The word ring true today.
The third thing, Gandhiji always emphasised and which we have tended to forget, is that "rights flow out of duties well performed". All around, you will find people asserting their rights, their demands to secure better wages and allowances. This is all right. It is necessary that people should have their rights but their rights emerge from their duties and responsibilities. How do we get our rights if we do not carry out duties? There is need for hard work and enterprise. If you want to be prosperous, you will have to put in hard work. You will pardon me, if I say that we are not prepared to put in hard work. If you look at the other countries, you will find that people start working in their factories, schools and offices at 8 in the morning till 5 in the evening, getting a break of 40 minutes in between. There are very few strikes. The emphasis there on demands in much less. In Japan, if a worker is annoyed, he only bears a black band on his arm and does not think in terms of striking work.
If other countries have become prosperous, it is because they have shown greater endeavour and enterprise. We want to earn more, have all the comforts and enjoy life without having to pay the prices for it, without which nothing really in this world can be obtained, either by a person or by a nation. If the West today is more affluent, if Japan and Israel where the cows living in arid land, still give the world'' best milk yield, are prosperous, it is because of the hard work and enterprise of these countries. If our country is to progress, we will have to put in hard work and show enterprise and when I say that, I include myself and my ministers. Only through our ceaseless hard work will this country be able to advance.
Coming to the foreign policy, we continue to adhere to the old policy of not aligning ourselves with any particular bloc. This will continue to be our policy because we consider it to be beneficial to the country - we will not be particularly inclined towards any country however big it might be.
We believe that in the world, peace can be achieve and people can find happiness only by following the preachings of Mahatma Gandhi. If not today, the world will reach same conclusion the day after tomorrow.
So far as the countries of South Asia are concerned, our relations with them have improved, barring some cases, where too, we hope, there will be improvement in our relations.
In this connection I would like to mention our neighbour, Pakistan whose people, till the other day, were part of us. Our information is that Pakistan is trying to manufacture nuclear bomb. Against whom are they making this bomb? They are friends with China ; and with Russia they have no disputes. As for Afghanistan, it is a small country and Pakistan has no disputes with it either. If, therefore, I and my colleagues as also my countrymen reach the conclusion that this bomb is aimed at us, is aimed at India, then our conclusion will not be far from the truth.
It has been our decision and it remains our decision so far that we do not want to manufacture nuclear bombs, or join the race for nuclear weapons. However, if Pakistan sticks to its decision and continues in its efforts to manufacture the bomb or stockpiling of these bombs, I and my colleagues will probably be forced to reconsider the entire question.
With these words, I would like to appeal all these democratic forces, who believe in secularism, to cast aside their petty differences, and come forward to help me and my colleagues and my Government
http://pmindia.nic.in/images/pms/2.jpg
The third thing, Gandhiji always emphasised and which we have tended to forget, is that "rights flow out of duties well performed". All around, you will find people asserting their rights, their demands to secure better wages and allowances. This is all right. It is necessary that people should have their rights but their rights emerge from their duties and responsibilities. How do we get our rights if we do not carry out duties? There is need for hard work and enterprise. If you want to be prosperous, you will have to put in hard work. You will pardon me, if I say that we are not prepared to put in hard work. If you look at the other countries, you will find that people start working in their factories, schools and offices at 8 in the morning till 5 in the evening, getting a break of 40 minutes in between. There are very few strikes. The emphasis there on demands in much less. In Japan, if a worker is annoyed, he only bears a black band on his arm and does not think in terms of striking work.
If other countries have become prosperous, it is because they have shown greater endeavour and enterprise. We want to earn more, have all the comforts and enjoy life without having to pay the prices for it, without which nothing really in this world can be obtained, either by a person or by a nation. If the West today is more affluent, if Japan and Israel where the cows living in arid land, still give the world'' best milk yield, are prosperous, it is because of the hard work and enterprise of these countries. If our country is to progress, we will have to put in hard work and show enterprise and when I say that, I include myself and my ministers. Only through our ceaseless hard work will this country be able to advance.
Coming to the foreign policy, we continue to adhere to the old policy of not aligning ourselves with any particular bloc. This will continue to be our policy because we consider it to be beneficial to the country - we will not be particularly inclined towards any country however big it might be.
We believe that in the world, peace can be achieve and people can find happiness only by following the preachings of Mahatma Gandhi. If not today, the world will reach same conclusion the day after tomorrow.
So far as the countries of South Asia are concerned, our relations with them have improved, barring some cases, where too, we hope, there will be improvement in our relations.
In this connection I would like to mention our neighbour, Pakistan whose people, till the other day, were part of us. Our information is that Pakistan is trying to manufacture nuclear bomb. Against whom are they making this bomb? They are friends with China ; and with Russia they have no disputes. As for Afghanistan, it is a small country and Pakistan has no disputes with it either. If, therefore, I and my colleagues as also my countrymen reach the conclusion that this bomb is aimed at us, is aimed at India, then our conclusion will not be far from the truth.
It has been our decision and it remains our decision so far that we do not want to manufacture nuclear bombs, or join the race for nuclear weapons. However, if Pakistan sticks to its decision and continues in its efforts to manufacture the bomb or stockpiling of these bombs, I and my colleagues will probably be forced to reconsider the entire question.
With these words, I would like to appeal all these democratic forces, who believe in secularism, to cast aside their petty differences, and come forward to help me and my colleagues and my Government
http://pmindia.nic.in/images/pms/2.jpg