Kerala - Others   

`Democracy a powerful tool for development'

Ahamed addresses international meet

Dubai: India has said that its long experience of democratic rule has helped it successfully overcome the challenges of development.

``We believe that democracy based on universal adult suffrage empowers the most humble citizen of our country and gives him a sense of dignity. Poverty, illiteracy and socio-economic backwardness do not hinder the exercise of democracy,'' Union Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed has said.

``Our experience of more than 50 years of democratic rule demonstrates how democracy is the most powerful tool to successfully overcome the challenges of development,'' Mr. Ahamed said in his address to the Sixth International Conference on New and Restored Democracies, in Doha on Monday.

Indian experience

The Indian experience had shown that ``implementation of pro-active development policies and economic reforms, when coupled with a liberal democratic polity, leads to overall stability and growth.''

India has strongly supported the creation of the U.N. Democracy Fund with an initial contribution of $10 million, Mr. Ahamed was quoted as saying by the Peninsula newspaper. — PTI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Slaughterhouse to be shifted
CISF holds mock drill on bomb threat
Golden jubilee fete begins today
`Democracy a powerful tool for development'
B.Ed. college to celebrate State's golden jubilee

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu