The Hindu : Front Page : Nehru Award conferred on Goh

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Saturday, Jul 10, 2004

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Front Page

Nehru Award conferred on Goh

By Amit Baruah

PARTNERS FOR PROGRESS: Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Goh Chok Tong of Singapore in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday. The two sides are scheduled to hold talks on closer cooperation in several sectors during Mr. Goh's visit, his fifth in 10 years. — Photo: V. Sudershan

NEW DELHI, JULY 9. The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, conferred the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding on the Singapore Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan this evening. The Award carries a trophy, citation and a purse of Rs. 25 lakhs.

Mr. Goh, who arrived in the capital on Thursday night, had a full schedule of meetings today. He called on the President and the Vice-President, B.S. Shekhawat, and held talks with the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. He also met the External Affairs Minister, Natwar Singh, the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, and the Leader of the Opposition, L.K. Advani.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Award, since its inception in 1965, has been given to Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Yehudi Menuhin, Mother Teresa, Indira Gandhi, Kenneth Kaunda, Yasser Arafat, Aung San Suu Kyi, Mahathir Mohamed and Helmut Kohl, among others.

In his address at the Award function, Mr. Kalam said that Mr. Goh, with his leadership and vision, had come to occupy a leading place among the statesmen of Asia. "At the same time, we remember and pay our respects to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of free India ... "

The President said Mr. Goh had guided the destiny of Singapore and its people for a decade and a half. "Under your illustrious leadership, Singapore has scripted a new way of doing things designed for creating an enterprising and innovative society. The results are there for all to see in the form of the Singapore dream."

Within the short span of a generation, Singapore had emerged as a developed nation — a vision articulated by the founder of independent Singapore — Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

"This is particularly important when it was thought in 1965 that an independent Singapore was not viable and your predecessor had an unenviable task to make it work and you created a nation out of peoples of origin mostly from China, India, Malaysia and other parts of Asia. Our greetings to you and the people of Singapore," Mr. Kalam said.

The President applauded Mr. Goh's statement last year that India should be part of a larger Asian Economic Community — comprising the 10 nations of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan and South Korea. How can we create an Asian Union just like the European Union? If a war-torn Europe could come together, why couldn't Asia do the same?

In his acceptance speech, Mr. Goh said that Nehru was a cosmopolitan, a nationalist and an intellectual giant. "Most of all, he was an inspiration to the generation that had fought to free themselves from colonial rule."

Stating that he was deeply honoured to be conferred with the Award, Mr. Goh said that along with Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru taught Asians to stand up for their rights, and rediscover their heritage, dignity and self-worth.

"Unlike many who turned to revolutionary violence, Nehru walked the more difficult path of conciliation and peace towards independence, and made the difference. Nehru persevered and triumphed.

He made it easy for many of us living in colonies to follow in his footsteps, along the path he created," the Prime Minister said.

"Secure in his own Indian identity and roots, Nehru was able to enjoy the fruits of many cultures and to learn from them.

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