It is indeed a great pleasure and an honour for me to have been invited to inaugurate the Photo Exhibition on the History of the Russian Parliamentary System. I take this opportunity to convey my greetings and felicitations to the Russian people on the anniversary of the establishment of the Russian Parliament, Duma. It is a pleasant coincidence that we are having this Exhibition at a time when the largest democracy is engaged in the biggest electoral exercise anywhere in the world to elect the new Lok Sabha, the House of the people.

At a time when India-Russia Friendship is poised to scale greater heights, the holding of the Exhibition in India on the Russian Parliamentary System is indeed very appropriate. India and Russia have shared a warm and cordial relationship and have been the bulwark of peace, progress and prosperity across the world. Our relationship spans a wide array of activities, including political, economic and cultural. During the past few years, there has been continuous engagement between the two countries at various levels, particularly at the people’s level, and today’s event is yet another eloquent testimony of that sprit of warmth and amity.

Although major events in recent years have changed the trajectory of world politics and the equations between and among countries, India-Russia relations have not only withstood the test of time but have also grown from strength to strength. The relations between the two countries have been redefined taking into account new realities and without losing the basic tenets and fundamentals that have sustained them all these years.

The visits of H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin to India, including that of 2007 when he was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations, speak volumes of the importance that we attach to our friendship. We celebrated the Year of Russia in India in 2008 and this year is being celebrated as the Year of India in Russia. We were greatly privileged to receive Russian President H.E. Mr. Dmitry Medvedev who visited India in December 2008 and to renew the long tradition of friendship and cooperation between our two countries and peoples. No words perhaps can more succinctly describe India-Russia friendship than those of H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin when he addressed the members of Parliament in the historic Central Hall on 4 October 2000. What he spoke merits mention here and I quote:

“India is a great country. It is our long-term partner and ally. Our fruitful relations are devoid of alien and egoistic tasks, and are mutually beneficial. Between the peoples of Russia and India, there has never been any hostility, there has never been a voice of conflict. Russia and India are ancient civilizations but at the same time they are living and developing democracies. In the new century, we are ready to strengthen our relations. We are maintaining the most valuable traditions of friendship and profound sympathy and respect for each other.”

Our two countries have been collaborating continuously in diverse fields, including trade and commerce, science and technology, defence, etc. There has also been a long cultural and literary linkage between India and Russia. As all of you know, our greatest poet the Nobel laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore had visited Russia in 1930 and was deeply impressed to see the empathy of the rural folks for their less privileged brethren.  One finds Tagore’s deep appreciation and feelings for Russia in his Letters from Russia, written originally in Bengali. Prof. Amartya Sen, himself a Nobel laureate, mentions in one of his scholarly articles that there is a great resonance in the works of Tagore with those of Russian literary giants like Tolstoy or Gorky, in spite of differences in settings and nuances.

India and Russia might have adopted two different political systems, but there is a strong convergence of our ultimate goals and objectives, and Parliament, as the fulcrum of that inclusive edifice, stands supreme, articulating the hopes and aspirations of our peoples. The importance of the Exhibition, which I have the pleasure and the privilege to inaugurate today, can hardly be over-emphasized, in the context of the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-denominational societies that both the countries have. It depicts the evolution, the growth and the significance of the parliamentary polity very graphically and illustratively. Such Exhibitions have their own importance for they go a long way in creating awareness of the efficacy of parliamentary institutions and structures in strengthening democracy and in enabling social harmony, unity and integrity in a multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-ethnic society and polity, particularly among the younger generations. Political apathy and indifference to electoral processes, especially among the youth, do not augur well for the health of democracy. The younger generations should be inspired to know more about their democratic and parliamentary heritage and then only can they internalise the cherished values of democracy. I strongly feel that such Exhibitions are an imperative concomitant in inculcating appreciation for parliamentary values. I, in my own humble ways, have tried to develop the Parliament Museum in the Parliament Complex to showcase India’s rich democratic heritage and our pulsating democracy. I am happy that the Parliament Museum has been very popular and is visited by a large number of students and dignitaries from India and abroad.

One must acknowledge that the Unity International Foundation, ever since its inception in 1964, has been making valuable contributions, for the promotion of peace and harmony at people-to-people level between India and other countries. In recent years, people-to-people contact, as part of what is called ‘Track II Diplomacy’, has assumed great significance, as it facilitates better understanding and help in creating a climate of confidence between the people and the Governments. Such contacts can be promoted through exchange of students, teachers, academics, media persons, cultural troupes, sports persons, professionals and others. The parliamentarians can also contribute a great deal towards better understanding and cooperation between countries. It is a matter of great satisfaction for us that we have regular exchanges at the parliamentary level between our two countries. I am happy to share with you that in our Parliament we have a India-Russia Friendship group which is contributing towards greater friendship between the two countries.

Friendly relations among different countries will undoubtedly promote peace and better understanding among their people. There have been enough strife, stress and strain in the world, resulting in intense suffering of the innocent people; it is only through understanding and amity that we can secure permanent peace. These are ideals India and Russia share in ample measure.

I am happy to know that the unity International Foundation have conferred its prestigious award on eminent persons such as the Presidents of Argentina, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan and to the Governor-General of Mauritius and to the late Swedish Premier Olaf Palme, in recognition of their contributions to peace and development.

It is extremely thoughtful on the part of the organizers to have chosen the occasion to give away the Unity Award posthumously to late Chaudhury Ranbir Singh. Chaudhury Ranbir Singhji was a respected freedom fighter and a renowned parliamentarian who believed that the institution of Parliament is the bedrock of the unity and integrity of the country, especially one like India, which is verily a multicultural society.  Late respected Ranbir Singhji espoused the values of democracy, unity and integrity, in his long and distinguished public life, which has also been the very motto of the Unity International Foundation.  I congratulate the Foundation that by this decision, it has added lustre to the prestigious Unity Award.

Much can be said about the legendary leader Chaudhury Ranbir Singh, who was one of the last surviving members of India’s Constituent Assembly, which was mandated to draft the Constitution of the Indian Republic. Chaudhury Ranbir Singh, besides being a distinguished member of the Constituent Assembly, was an eminent freedom fighter, a member of the Provisional Parliament, and later a member of the Punjab and Haryana Legislative Assemblies, and a member of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, a distinction, which I do not think, anybody else possessed.

The public life of Chaudhury Ranbir Singh goes back to the days of our freedom struggle. Even as a student, the call of the freedom struggle stirred him and drew him to the national cause. Under the inspiring leadership of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, he actively took part in the freedom struggle and was arrested eight times and was jailed for a considerable period. He was a champion of the cause of the poor and the under-privileged, particularly the peasants and farmers. He was the founder General-Secretary of the Bharat Krishak Samaj and the All-India Backward Classes Federation. As a member of the two Houses of Parliament and the Legislative Assemblies of Haryana and Punjab, and even outside Parliament, he very zealously articulated the interests and concerns of the farmers and agriculturists. Chaudhury Ranbir Singh was always rooted to the village. In fact, while participating in a debate in the Constituent Assembly on 6 November 1948, he very candidly said, “I am a villager, born and bred in a farmer’s house. Naturally I have imbibed its culture”.

Late Chaudhury Ranbir Singh was also a staunch votary of secularism and an inclusive polity. He firmly believed that the ultimate goal of a democratic polity was to establish an inclusive social order. He was a continuing link of the present generation of leadership with the earlier generation belonging to that of the freedom struggle and the period immediately succeeding that generation. At a time when the memories of the freedom struggle are slowly fading away, the ideas and ideals of Chaudhury Ranbir Singh have more relevance today than ever before. His emphasis on unity and integrity of our secular fabric have a profound significance, especially today when divisive and sectarian elements are threatening the nation. That being so, it is eminently appropriate that the Unity Award is being posthumously conferred on Late Chaudhury Ranbir Singh.  I am happy that his worthy son is present here to receive the award.

Friends, I must say that I am overwhelmed and humbled at the gesture of the Unity International Foundation to felicitate me for my humble services to the cause of parliamentary democracy.  I am indeed touched by the generous sentiment and I take this opportunity to reiterate that there is no substitute for democracy and that it is our collective responsibility to uphold it further. To strengthen democracy, we have to build institutions and nourish them and also inculcate democratic values and total commitment to their ethical content. More importantly, we have to involve the youth in the democratic process and restore the trust of the people in the efficacy of parliamentary democracy. That has been my humble endeavour all through my political life. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for bestowing this undeserved honour on me. I hope that the ideas and ideals of stalwarts like Late Chaudhury Ranbir Singh will continue to inspire us in our endeavour to strengthen democracy. I also fervently hope and trust that India-Russia friendship will be further strengthened in the years to come for the peace and prosperity of the people at large, and also for fostering democracy across the world.

With these words, I have immense pleasure in inaugurating this Photo Exhibition on the History of the Russian Parliamentary System.

Thank you.