External Affairs Minister's address on "India Now" at the Carrington Endowed Lecture Series event, hosted by the Southern Methodist University, Dallas
October 10, 2012
October 03, 2012 Distinguished Provost, Mr. Paul Ludden, Ambassador Nirupama Rao, Consul General Harish, Distinguished Dean, Law School, Prof. Attanasio, Distinguished members of Academia,
Friends,
At the outset, allow me to convey my profound gratitude and appreciation to President Turner and Dean Prof. Attanasio for giving me this wonderful opportunity to return to my alma mater. It is, indeed, a happy home coming for me, though after a gap of over five decades. As I entered the campus of SMU today, I cannot but reminisce the wonderful and eventful time I had spent in very formative years of my student life. I owe a great deal of my success to the knowledge that I acquired in this great University.
I am greatly indebted to President Turner and Dean Prof. Attanasio for inviting me to address this gathering on a topic of great interest, namely– ‘India Now’.
Friends, It was not so long ago that India was considered a mere idea! For over one and a half century, India was subjugated by colonial powers. Emerging independent in 1947, India transformed in diverse ways and in diverse sectors.
In the past decade or so, the global interest on India has increased by leaps and bounds. This new mindset globally is borne out of a realisation rooted in rapid economic transformation of India and the emerging role of India as a stabilizing power in the new global strategic architecture.
