East Asia Summit
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today attended the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur. In his intervention at the Summit, he spoke of the global challenge of terrorism.
“The barbaric terrorist strikes in Paris, Ankara, Beirut, Mali and on the Russian aircraft is a stark reminder that its shadow stretches across our societies and our world, both in recruitment and choice of targets. We must build new global resolve and new strategies for combating terrorism, without balancing it against political considerations. No country should use or supports terrorism. There is no distinction between groups. There are no sanctuaries. There are no funds. There is no access to arms. But, we also have to work within our societies and with our youth. I welcome the commitment to delink religion from terrorism and the efforts to promote human values that define every faith,” the Prime Minister said.
“India and Bangladesh recently settled their maritime boundary using the mechanism of UNCLOS. India hopes that all parties to the disputes in the South China Sea will abide by the Declaration on the Conduct on South China Sea and the guidelines on the implementation. Parties must also redouble efforts for early adoption of a Code of Conduct on the basis of consensus,” the Prime Minister said.
Unveiling of Statue of Swami Vivekananda
The Prime Minister unveiled a statue of Swami Vivekananda at Ramakrishna Mission. Speaking on the occasion, he said Swami Vivekananda was not just an individual, but the very soul of the millennia-old Indian culture. He said that if we can imbibe the breadth of Indian culture, from the Upanishad to the Upagrah (satellite), we would have installed Vivekananda within us. He said that at a time when the world was torn between materialism and spirituality, Swami Vivekananda had taken the message of Indian spirituality to the west. He said that the ASEAN Summits that he had attended over the last two days, had an oft-repeated theme of “One Asia.” He said that this was an idea first propounded by Swami Vivekananda.
Address to Indian Community
The Prime Minister addressed the Malaysian-Indian Community. He said “India is not confined to its territory. India also exists in every Indian in every part of the world.”
“Independent India owes a debt of gratitude to Malaya-Indians. The glory of India's freedom struggle was written, in part, by the struggles and sacrifices of Malaya-Indians. Thousands of your forefathers came forward to join Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army. Women poured out in large numbers from the comfort of their homes to march shoulder to shoulder with Netaji Subhash Bose,” the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister paid homage to the Malay-Indians “who had laid down their lives so that a free India could rise.”
“70 years ago a tragic and deadly World War came to an end. I also pay homage to the countless Indian soldiers who lost their lives in the battle fields of Malaysia. A majority of those who laid down their lives were Sikhs. Their blood is permanently mixed with the soil of Malaysia. It was a war that mattered for both our countries. And, their blood in the Malaysian soil now forms a bond between our two countries that can never be erased,” the Prime Minister said.
“Terrorism is the biggest threat to the world today. It knows no boundary. It uses the name of religion to draw people to its cause. But, it is false. And, it kills people of all faith. We have to delink religion from terror. The only distinction is between those who believe in humanity and those who do not. I have said it before and I will say it here. The world must come together to combat the biggest challenge of our times,” the Prime Minister said.
“In Malaysia an India-students Trust Fund was set up in 1954 to give financial assistance to Malaysian-Indian children who lacked the means for education. This Fund is still needed by a section of the Indian community in Malaysia. We are happy to announce a grant of about 1 million US dollars in additional funds to the corpus of the Trust Fund. Thousands of your children go to India to become doctors. While doctors are a critical need for our societies, I hope that you will take the opportunity to get education in other areas as well. Malaysia and India should immediately recognize the degrees conferred by both our countries. This is something I intend to take up with Prime Minister Najib,” Shri Narendra Modi said.
