Excellencies, Members of Parliament, Federal officials, Mayors and cantonal representatives, Business, Academic and Cultural leaders, members of the Indian diaspora, fellow citizens of India, ladies and gentlemen. We are also happy that the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and the Chairman of the Legislative Council of the State of Uttar Pradesh are in our midst today.
A warm welcome to this special event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India’s independence. We shall also be commemorating 75 years of our Friendship Treaty. I thank you all for taking time out to join us on this joyous occasion.
President Smt Draupadi Murmu, in her address to the nation, said the last 75 years had been a remarkable journey. She said every generation had contributed to the ideals of our founding fathers and every generation had seen growth and increasing opportunities.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi called for renewed efforts by all citizens in making India a fully developed nation, by the time we celebrate our centenary, in 2047.
The journey of the last 75 years was not easy but it was nonetheless transformative. In 1947, our literacy rate was 12%, our life expectancy was only 32 years, our economy had been impoverished and our nation was partitioned. Our Constitution, based on our ancient traditions and heritage as well as our exchanges with other nations put emphasis on democracy, development, empowerment and growing aspirations. It served us well.
Today, our democracy is vibrant and participative. From the outset, It was inclusive, providing universal adult franchise, including to women. Village panchayats have 1.4 million elected women representatives. Our democracy not only ensured political rights but also sustained and nourished our cultural and social diversity and our ethos of plurality. You can imagine how important this was for a country as large as India with the kind of diversity of language, ethnicities, religions and customs we were privileged to possess.
India’s development and growth was an endogenous and inclusive process. Technology and economic reform helped to leapfrog the stages of development making us the fastest growing major economy and a major recipient of FDI. Globalisation integrated us in reliable and dependable supply chains. As a sixth of humanity and the fifth largest economy we add value to the globalised world. The world needs India and India needs the world.
Perhaps the most visible transformations are empowerment and growing aspirations of our people. While our traditions and customs gave us civilisational confidence; it was education, technology and global exposure that made us a vibrant and buoyant society, particularly our women and youth. Every generation saw change and broke many a glass ceiling. Our Millennials and Generation Z are pushing the frontiers and creating new paradigms for the future. The start-up ecosystem in India is exciting, creating unicorns at a rapid pace while also maintaining a connect with society and its challenges.
It is this aspirational and transformative India that seeks dynamic and future oriented partnerships with the rest of the world and with Switzerland.
Our relations with Switzerland, based on democracy and shared values, have always been a priority and been mutually beneficial. In the past, our scholars and philosophers visited Switzerland - Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi. Switzerland was like “devabhoomi” the land of the gods, where everything was perfect. From Switzerland, noted scholars Carl Jung, Alice Boner and Le Corbusier have lived and worked in India and left an enduring imprint.
In the modern era, we are working together not only to take our bilateral relations to a higher level but also to coordinate on global issues. We applaud Switzerland’s election as a non-permanent member of United Nations Security Council for 2023–24 and also look forward to our engagement in various plurilateral forum. We shall engage constructively in the reform of the multilateral system as we address the challenges of a globalised world.
Bilaterally, our high-level political exchanges added momentum to our partnership, giving new content and direction. We are engaged in expanding cooperation on investment, trade, technology, innovation and youth mobility and also collaborating on global challenges such as terrorism, sustainability and climate change.
We thank the Swiss side for their welcome and hospitality to the Indian diaspora. I can confidently state, without bias, when Indians and Swiss work together they produce the best solutions. We have 300 Swiss corporates in India and 100 Indian corporates in Switzerland that prove the case.
Today, we hope you will enjoy the exhibition of paintings by Rabindranath Tagore, winner of Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. Later, in September, we shall host the India in the Alps cultural festival over two weeks in Bern, Zurich and Geneva to showcase our maestros in classical music and dance as well as contemporary theatre, food, fashion and even Bollywood. We thank Hotel Bellevue for hosting us this evening and putting together an Indian menu to tease your palate. Don’t forget to take a picture in front of the Taj Mahal, as a memory, till you undertake a visit to my beautiful country. My colleagues and I once again extend a warm welcome to you all and wish you a pleasant evening.
Thank you
