Speech by Dr. Karan Singh, M.P.,
President, Indian Council for Cultural Relations for the
First Lakshman Kadirgamar Commemorative Lecture,
Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall,
Colombo, Sri Lanka,
10 August 2006

India and Sri Lanka: Friends and Neighbours

Foreign Minister Mangala Sameeraweera, senior Ministers of the Government of Sri Lanka, Honourable Members of Parliament, Excellencies, distinguished guests, members of the Kadirgamar family, ladies and gentlemen,

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 Honourable 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 in 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 Singhalas and the Tamils. Let us also recall that the great Indian Emperor Ashoka sent his own son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra 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 Manarshi 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 their 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. 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 multicultural civilization 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 modem 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 lives and 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 colonized 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.

Excellencies and friends, 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 multiethnic 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 targetting innocent victims can have no justification or rationale. There is no grievance that can make us accept such behaviour, no 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 noble 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.

We would like Sri Lanka to be an important partner in our economic programme. The bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has been hugely successful and has resulted in the trebling of bilateral trade in the last five years. Bilateral trade has crossed US$ 2 billion and the trade gap has vastly reduced. India is the third largest source of Sri Lanka's imports. Sri Lanka's exports have grown faster than imports from India and Sri Lankan Small Unit, Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in particular have benefitted from this dynamism. India was the largest foreign investor in Sir Lanka in 2002 and 2003 and FDI stock from India today is over US $ 400 million. Indian investments are contributing to employment generation, exports and skill, and technology development. Sri Lankan firms are now investing more in India. Cooperation in human resource development between our two countries is also growing.

Scholarships and training opportunities provided by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, which I have the priviledge of heading, and other Indian institutions are helping Sri Lanka acquire critical skills that today's globalized economy needs. I am happy that our two nations have reiterated their desire to accelerate their cooperation in the field of human resource development and in the fashioning of educational policies appropriate for developing skills and capacities required in the twenty-first century. Towards this end it was agreed that the Joint Working Group under the
India-Sri Lanka MOD on the Education Exchange Programme would be operationalized very soon. Several measures funded by India to enhance cooperation in the field of education and training were also agreed upon. These include the Mahatma Gandhi Scholarship scheme for 100 deserving Sri Lankan students every year, the upgradation of libraries and science laboratories Upcountry areas, the setting up of a Chair in Contemporary Indian Studies in the Peradeniya University, and the commissioning of a field study of vocational training centres.

To our traditional development, partnership, anchored in lines of credit, grant assistance and scholarships, we have recently added a framework for executing community-oriented small development projects. Our intention is to orient part of our assistance towards small scale, grassroots projects with a short gestation period, thus benefitting underpriviledged 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.

Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen; 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 threat of becoming more rigid, inflexible and unyielding, we, as Indians, believe not in the Clash but in the
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 Hon'ble 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. I will end with a traditional Hindu prayer to Lord Ganesha, son of Shiva and Parvati, remover of obstacles, to help overcome
your current problems and move towards a Sri Lanka that flourishes on the basis of unity in diversity:

Gajananam Bhutaganadi Sevitam
Kapitjambhu Phal Charubhakhshanam
Umasutam Shokavinasha Karakam
Namami Vighneshwara Pada Pankajam

Aum Namah Shivaya
Buddham Sharanam Gachami.