SPEECH

Daridra Narayan Seva our Motto : Sonia Gandhi
Mrs. Sonia Gandhi's address at the concluding session of NSUI training camp, 'DRISTICON', for district presidents at Haridwar, on 11th August, 2001

I am very much delighted to be with you on the occasion of the third 'Drishticon'. Earlier I had come to Haridwar when Uttar Pradesh Congress committee had organised a similar type of a camp here. Now Haridwar is a part of Uttaranchal. I congratulate all the people of this new state. Janamashtami will be observed tomorrow. On this auspicious occasion I greet all our countrymen and convey my good wishes.

Training camp is an essential part of a political organisation. Through it we find an opportunity to discuss many national issues and reach a right conclusion. We rededicate to the ideology and principles of the Congress. It enables us to move forward with proper understanding of political-economic conditions.

I believe that you have discussed all issues. Tehelka, securities scam, Ayodhya issue, UTI-64, corruption, Agra summit, North-East and internal security are issues which clearly prove that the present central government has practically failed on all fronts. It has betrayed the trust of the people. Now it is our responsibility to place the truth before the nation.

I had informed you earlier that the NSUI played a vital role in resurrecting the Indian National Congress and I believe that all of you are fully aware of your responsibilities. These responsibilities are just not limited to electoral politics. We view politics from the angle of Mahatma Gandhi. For us, politics is a tool of social transformation, Daridra Narayan Seva, a medium to provide their legitimate rights to the deprived people and to build a modern, progressive, prosperous and pro-equality India.

The major issue before our country today is economic crisis. Economic progress has almost come to a standstill. No solution to the problem of unemployment can be found without economic development. When we look around we feel pessimistic. People's mental strength is shattering and their trust is withering away. Industry and agriculture too are facing the same plight.

Our Lok Sabha election manifesto of 1991 was the last document of Rajivji's policies and vision. In this, he had promised to provide employment to one crore people every year. Unfortunately, he departed before completing this task. The NDA government too promised to provide one crore employment opportunities every year by imitating our manifesto. This promise turned out to be a farce. Instead of generating employment, old employment and works are coming to a halt. The new generation of the country should understand that they have a vast future before them and the present government is bent upon damaging the same. Whatever happened in the case of UTI-64, is before you. This seriously has affected the lives of more than two crore people. It includes servicemen, pensioners, ex-servicemen and low-income group people. The NSUI should highlight the unemployment issue all over the country. It should demand the Central Government to fulfil its promise. We are trying to fulfil our promises in the states, which are ruled by our party.

On this occasion, I would like to draw your attention towards one more conspiracy. The RSS and their allies are bringing communalism into education. They want to write our country's history in their own way, they are changing text books in schools and colleges, they are refusing to accept the truth of our mixed society and secular heritage. Educational institutions at the national level are being filled up by less qualified teachers. Only those people are appointed, who are inclined towards RSS ideology and look to our past and future through the eyes of this organisation. But, it is our duty to oppose this change throughout the country. The values which were established by our ancestors should not be allowed to die.

In this context, let me also make it absolutely clear that the Congress (I) is opposed to obscurantism and fundamentalism of all kinds. We are steadfastly opposed to the spread of propaganda from any source, to the spread of hate from any source. All organizations that use education to spread the virus of communalism of any kind have no place in our scheme of things and must be combated vigorously. All organisations that seek to destroy the very purpose of modern, liberal education have to be resisted with all our might.

Some institutions of higher learning and education started because of the foresight of Jawaharlal Nehru have acquired world-wide prominence. But it is not enough to have a few show-cases. When we look around, the state of our universities and colleges, in physical, intellectual, managerial and financial terms, is cause for great concern. In many states, the politici-zation of higher education has reached alarming proportions. Fraudulent colleges and courses are on the rise and quality control systems have all but collapsed.

While on the one hand we have to ensure universalisation of primary education and give it the highest priority specially in North India, we just cannot afford to neglect the renewal of our higher and technical education system as well. While there may be a case of having a second look at subsidies for technical education, particularly, the reform of higher education should not result in a situation where a poor but deserving student is denied equal opportunity. Students belonging to the weaker sections of society who face many disadvantages to begin with should not face other handicaps on account of the cost of education as well.

There is an urgent need for a measured approach in this regard. I think it is possible to combine the goals of full equality of opportunity with excellence in education and management and with financial viability. In any case, the government cannot abdicate its basic responsibility to help colleges and universities grow and expand. There is, I find, very often confusion and competition between the NSUI and the Youth Congress. This should not be. Their roles are distinct and different. The Youth Congress's role is more overtly and explicitly political. Your universe is colleges and universities primarily. And you have to spread the message of the Congress in a more subtle manner. You are students first and foremost and then political activists. Your focus, therefore, has to be on excellence in education itself and on ensuring that the concerns of the student community are articulated, addressed and attended to expeditiously by the managements and by governments. But as I mentioned earlier, you have another dimension in bringing an awareness of critical national issues to your friends and colleagues. In this, I would expect that you would be active in organizing, seminars, workshops, 'vichaar goshtis' and other sessions on issues of national importance where the Congress point of view can get projected to wider audience. We need 'Drishticons' both among ourselves and also with a wider world of student community. We must also ensure that anti-social elements are not allowed to infiltrate into our organizations and take advantage of our generosity.

We have a great challenge ahead of us in UP, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. I would urge my young friends from these States specially to take up the challenge in right earnest. UP will be particularly tough and our revival in this great State is not the responsibility of just UP Congress workers. It is the sacred responsibility of each and every one of us. I am hopeful that we will be able to channelise your energies and enthusiasm in a manner that the Congress's basic ethos once again reverberates across the length and breadth of UP and the whole country.