Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
New York, Prime Minister Narendra Modi debuted on the international stage on Saturday with a swipe at Pakistan, making a pitch for a united fight against terrorism, even as he took a dig at the various factions within the UN and pushed for reforms of the Security Council by next year — and even called for adopting an International Yoga Day.
In a 34-minute speech delivered in crisp Hindi, the PM rebuked Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif for raking up Kashmir in the same hall a day earlier, though without taking names. “Raising issues in this forum is not the way to make progress towards resolving issues between our two countries,” said Modi in his first speech at the UN General Assembly.
Dressed in a sharp navy-blue Nehru jacket, Modi said he was “prepared to engage in a serious bilateral dialogue with Pakistan in a peaceful atmosphere, without the shadow of terrorism, to promote friendship and cooperation”. Then, he put the onus of restarting the talks on Pakistan. “However, Pakistan must also take its responsibility seriously to create an appropriate environment,” he said.
Pointing to Pakistan indirectly, he said there were still countries that were giving shelter to terrorists and using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. He said it was inconceivable that some nations were still talking in terms of “good terrorism and bad terrorism”.
Since it was a Modi speech, there had to be a catch-phrase — here it was in terms of making the UN really united. “While we speak of an interdependent world, have we become more united as nations? Today, we still operate in various Gs with different numbers — G1, G4 or G20. India, too, is involved in several. But, how much are we able to work together as G1 or G-All?”
Modi’s speech at the UNGA was simultaneously translated with the help of two translators from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats.
At the India delegate box, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh were present.
The cavernous hall was only half-full, mainly because the Prime Minister’s slot came towards the end of the UNGA general debate session which began on September 24.
However, the Pakistan delegation box was full – with their officials writing down the speech. The visitors’ gallery was also nearly full with Indian-American families, who had made the effort to listen to Modi. While the Prime Minister had apparently wanted to deliver a largely extempore speech – it turned out to be the reverse with written text and only a few spontaneous deviations.
Delivered in strong, confident tones, Modi also brought up Kashmir, but to contrast with Nawaz Sharif’s negative tone – he spoke about relief efforts for the recent devastating floods. “Today, we should be thinking about the victims of floods in Jammu and Kashmir. In India, we have organised massive flood relief operations and have also offered assistance for PoK. India is part of the developing world, but we are prepared to share our modest resources with those countries that need this assistance as much as we do,” he said. In that context, he also referred to his government’s policy on placing the “highest priority” on relations with the neighbourhood.
“A nation’s destiny is linked to its neighbourhood. That is why my government has placed the highest priority on advancing friendship and cooperation with her neighbours,” the PM said.
Modi also referred to the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan, Bhutan and Nepal as examples of the “democracy wave” which was sweeping across the world.
Not surprisingly, a substantive part of his speech was devoted to terrorism. “Are we really making concerted international efforts to fight these forces, or are we still hobbled by our politics, our divisions,” he wondered.
