Tribute

A Mandate For Unity, Strength and Harmony : Rajiv Gandhi

Fellow citizens,

You have given my party and me your confidence in overflowing measure. Who could ask for more? And how can we prove worthy of it? Only by working for you with unremitting faith and humility, summoning all our reserves of strength and energy, being as unsparing with ourselves as you have been generous with your trust.

I do not regard it as my victory, or even the victory of my party, which commences its hundredth year of service; it is the victory of the people of India.

You have spoken clearly and unmistakably. You have given a mandate for unity, for strength, for harmony.

The whole world sees once again the vitality of India’s democratic tradition. The political system built up by our great leaders, Gandhiji, Panditji and Indiraji, has marched to new strength. The election has been a great celebration of democracy. India’s ancient heritage going back to the dawn of mankind, stands renewed in freedom.

The dust and din of the elections are behind us. The passions they generated must now make way for reconciliation. Great tasks await us and we should approach them in a spirit of togetherness. United, there is no challenge that we cannot meet.

Secularism is the basis of our unity. Communalism and all other narrow loyalties are incompatible with unity. These elections have shown that our people always rise above these artificial barriers. We have to fight communalism and the suspicion and insecurity it breeds. It is my first duty to safeguard the life, property and legitimate rights of citizens belonging to every faith.

We must go beyond the prevention and suppression of violence. We must cure the minds where hatred and prejudice arise and grow. We must take the campaign for unity to every village and every street of every town. An ideological battle against communalism, fanaticism must be waged in our schools and universities, in our workplaces and in our media.

Priority to Punjab Problem :

My Government will give top priority to the problem of Punjab. A Cabinet Committee has been formed to study various aspects of the problem and to look at alternatives for a peaceful settlement within a specified time-frame. In ending the sad chapter of discord, all should cooperate. The Sikhs are as much a part of India as any other community. They have played a heroic role in winning and defending our freedom. I wish to assure them that their life and property will be protected in every part of the country. In Punjab and elsewhere, all patriotic forces must repudiate those who preach separatism and practise violence. There cannot, and will not, be any concession to separatist ideologies and to the cult of violence. India’s unity is paramount, everything else comes after that.

Earnest efforts will be made to settle the foreigners’ issue in Assam. The give-and-take of the conference table can yield victories which confrontation cannot.

Growth with Justice :

In a few months we shall begin the Seventh Plan. The war against our old enemies — poverty, unemployment, disease, ignorance — continues. In the weeks ahead, we shall review our existing policies and programmes to ensure that our basic objectives of growth with justice are realized within the stipulated time-table. The public sector will continue to be a major tool of development; deficiencies in performance, wherever they exist, will be quickly overcome. Far-reaching proposals for change have been formulated and are under consideration.

Improvement in productivity, absorption of modern technology and fuller utilisation of capacity must acquire the status of a national campaign. I have asked the Ministries of Science & Technology and Industries to prepare specific proposals to achieve these objectives.

I have reviewed the foreign trade policies and directed that concrete steps should be taken in the next few weeks to give a fresh impetus to our exports.

The 20-point programme for the weaker sections is being restructured to be more effective.

Meeting the Ecological Crisis :

Continuing deforestation has brought us face to face with a major ecological and socio-economic crisis. The trend must be halted. I propose immediately to set up a National Wastelands Development Board with the object of bringing 5 million hectares of land every year under fuelwood and fodder plantations. We shall develop a people’s movement for afforestation.

The Ganga is the symbol of India’s culture, the source of our legend and poetry, the sustainer of millions. Today it is one of the most polluted rivers. We will restore the pristine purity of the Ganga. A Central Ganga Authority will be set up to implement an action plan to prevent the pollution of the Ganga and its tributaries. Measures will be taken to ensure cleaner air and water in all parts of the country.

New Administrative Culture :

Administrative reform is crucial for social and economic transformation. It is for this reason that I decided to take under my own charge the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms. A full-scale review of administrative organisation, policies and procedures is in progress. I have asked that the decision-making processes should be decentralized along with enforcement of accountability. Rules and procedures will be drastically simplified to speed up decision-making. Results will take precedence over procedures.

I have directed all concerned agencies to ensure that citizens get prompt and courteous service from Government departments and agencies. An effective machinery for redressal of public grievances will be set up in offices and departments with large public dealings.

Action will be taken to raise the morale of public services. We shall prevent extraneous interference in the normal functioning of public services. We must create a new administrative culture for service of the masses. Training of civil servants of all categories will be restructured to develop competence and commitment to the basic values of our society.

Education and National Cohesion :

Education must promote national cohesion and the work ethic. The grandeur of our freedom struggle and its significance for national integration have to be brought home to every student. Our schools and colleges should acquaint the younger generations with India’s ancient heritage and culture. The curricula and text books should curb parochial and communal interpretations of our composite culture. I have looked at some of the policies and programmes in this field. I have asked that a new national education policy be drafted.

We are formulating programmes to use on a large scale the new communication technology in our school system. Delinking of degrees from jobs under Government is under active consideration. Steps are being taken to establish an Open University to bring higher education within easy reach of all. The Central Schools’ organisation will be expanded. These schools will function as centres of excellence in every district of our country.

I would strongly emphasize education’s organic link with the productive forces of society. We shall reorganise vocational education to align it with industry, agriculture, communications and other productive sectors of our economy.

Commitment to Non-Alignment :

We have inherited a well-tested and consistent foreign policy which serves our national interest. We have always believed in working for peace. Our policy is to be friends with all countries on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit. Our commitment to non-alignment and a new world economic order based on justice, equality and mutual cooperation is unshakable. This means a total dedication to the twin causes of peace and development. We also believe in safeguarding the independence of States and upholding the principles of non-interference and non-intervention.

One aspect of our foreign policy needs special attention. We have deep historical and cultural links with our immediate neighbours in South Asia. We share the same memories of foreign rule and look forward to the same prospects of development and a better future for our peoples. I believe firmly that we can work together to realize these common aims. We do have some problems, but we are determined to resolve them on the basis of mutual respect, sovereign equality and friendship.

In a troubled world, India has a role to play because of its history, its geography and its faith in peaceful co-existence. In trying to live up to our responsibilities, this Government will scrupulously follow the basic approach and principles bequeathed to us by Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Like them, we shall be dynamic in our responses to the changing context.

Face to Face with the People :

In the last few weeks it was my privilege to have travelled over all parts of our beloved and beautiful country. I saw millions of fellow Indians face to face. In all the cultural diversity of our people, what stood out was the unity of India. It is a privilege to be born in India and to be heir to its great civilization. We have so much to secure for our own people and so much to give to the world.

We are passing through a difficult phase. Our burdens are immense, our road long and arduous. Your cooperation is vital for achieving the national goals.

I give you my greetings for the New Year. May it bring happiness to everyone.

From time to time I shall share with you my ideas, my hopes, my struggles. But, even more, I want to listen to you, to your difficulties, your ideas, your hopes. Together we shall share the burden and the esctasy of building our India. Jai Hind.

(The Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi’s broadcast to the nation over A.I.R. and Doordarshan, 5 Jan., 1985)