Excerpts from the Speech of The Honorable Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani
We all in our country, that is India absorb and follow a lot of values from so called epics called Ramayan. And in Ramayan when Prabhu Ram was victorious over Ravan and He was leaving for home he was told by Vibheeshan that now that you are victorious you can stake a claim to the golden city of Lanka and at that time Lord Ram turned around and said “Janani Janmabhoomishcha Swargatha Bhigareeyasi” that my motherland, my mother is so beautiful that she is greater than all the heavens and all that human beings seek to achieve.
It is because India as a culture has infused the feminine virtue in pursuit of a strong nation, that we serve as individuals not only a national cause but also the cause of humanity. India as a nation has culture has defined for the world “Vasudeva Kutumbakam” which means the world is one family. India has been blessed by the Gita wherein Lord Krishna said that if you walk on the path of dharma, if you absorb and follow the path of righteousness then you not only emerge as a true leader, you also serve and bring about a stronger nation, universe and world. And it is interesting that in this very nation through this very platform we talk about globally connecting, we talk about leadership that helps us connect.
In 1996 a study was put out by Mr. Subbarao and 72 countries were a part of this study, that in 1975 had these nations invested in women’s higher education, then in 1985 those nations would have a seen a decline in infant deaths by 68%. If those same 72 nations had put in all their resources to increase per capita income in every citizen of those 72 countries the impact on infant deaths would have been zero.
As a parliamentarian in India we have had quite a few challenges in the past one and half years with regards to women’s security, does it break my heart every time, I need to raise my voice in parliament about women getting raped? Yes it does. Does it break my heart when I discuss statistics with regards to infant girls being killed just because they are girls? Yes it does. It breaks my heart when I recognize and realize that over one crore girls die in our country in their mother’s womb and nobody speaks out for them because children are not vote banks. At the same time I wonder is legislation enough? If we truly seek to empower our nations and society and the world at large will legislation be enough? And that’s when I remind myself of a quote by Mahatma Gandhi, who said “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. Kautilya in the Arthshastra has said for a good leader it is not enough to exercise control or be victorious over external forces and enemies. For a good leader the first priority is to overcome your own burdens, overcome your own flaws, re assert your own humanity, fight your internal enemies and you can truly lead the world. I feel for the globe to connect, for nations to be empowered, it is extremely essential for the women in that country to be educated, to be employed, to be treated as human beings, where every women is given a right to live her life with dignity, the right to live her life in peace and the right to live her life in such a fashion that she can encourage others to treat everyone as equals and to provide such opportunities to men and women alike.
So once again a nation that defined its own cultural ethos by saying “bahujan sukaya bahujan hitaya”, that we as a nation are dedicated to the happiness and welfare of all, I am hoping that the global connect we seek is a global connect that is inspired by India’s idea of “Vasudeva kutumbakam”. We are one family who will resolve and rise above every conflict. We as the world come together and serve not individual national interests but also interest of humanity at large.
