In recent weeks, the formation of a popular government in Jammu and Kashmir has strengthened the forces of national integration. We now have a historic opportunity of restoring lasting peace to our people in Jammu and Kashmir. But let us be under no illusions: there are still many elements outside and within our own country who would not like us to succeed. They will have to be resisted and overcome. Similarly, in the north-east, national interest and not partisan politics should shape our strategy. This is how peace returned to Assam and Mizoram in the 1980s. I hope that the Peoples Integration Council will make a special effort to reach out to people and civil society in these two regions.
National integration demands that we look across our immediate geographical borders as well and expand the constituency for peace and dialogue. It is indeed a matter of regret that SAARC has been held hostage to bilateral animosities that bedevil nation-states in the region. At times the task may appear stupendous and beyond our scope but we must not waver and lose hope. I am aware that many in this audience have been tirelessly pursuing peace in the sub-continent. We must acknowledge and applaud their untiring efforts. Their dedication and sincerity of purpose in building bridges, I hope, will inspire and spread far and wide particularly among the youth. Over a billion people living in South Asia are yearning for a new future free from, the bitterness of the past and the recriminations of the present.
So far, I have spoken about integration largely in its social and political dimension, through the perspective of strengthening secular values in a multi-religious society. There is also an economic dimension which we must not lose sight of. Growing regional disparities, disparities both among states and within states weaken the bonds of national integration. The need of the hour is undoubtedly to promote faster economic growth but this has to be broad-based and cannot be confined to a few regions. We must also pay close attention to the nature of this growth. We have had economically laggard regions where social harmony has been preserved just as we have had economically buoyant regions where social harmony has been ruptured.
The challenge then is to ensure that we have economic growth that is not just rapid but that is above all also equitable. The challenge is to ensure that this growth also promotes the social well-being and welfare of all, particularly of the weaker sections of society. When we talk of the weaker sections of society all of us must take serious note of the painful fact that atrocities on dalits, on tribals, on women are on the increase not only in the remote areas but also in more affluent ones as we have recently seen in Jhajjar, Haryana. The mindset that results in persisting atrocities on dalits, tribals and women in different parts of the country must be countered. For this to happen, we need a new design and structure for the state to make it a more effective instrument of economic change and social transformation. This is most urgently needed in our less developed states in particular, where people are desperate for good governance. There is no reason why identity politics and development politics should be mutually exclusive.

Finally, I want to emphasise that a country that has been built on the intermingling of different cultures, religions, faiths, languages and communities cannot allow its history to be distorted and misappropriated for partisan purposes. Our past must foster pride, not prejudice. The educational system particularly must resonate with inclusiveness and must inculcate a scientific temper in young and impressionable minds. It must instill in them an image of India whose very edifice rests on multiple diversities and infinite varieties, of an India that is one and many at the same time. We must be determined to thwart the sinister attempts that have been initiated to rewrite our history books. We have to find answers to check the spread of schools that are run by forces inimical to the idea of an India founded on plurality.
As I said earlier, the task ahead of us is daunting. Political parties will have to play a key role but peoples, organisations will also be crucial. The media, national regional and local, has to be mobilised. Youth has to be energized and given a new vision founded on a modern, progressive, scientific outlook that still respects the best of our traditional values. They must see their own future in the future of India, of an India that is pulsating with economic growth and social empowerment. Professionals like teachers, educationists, lawyers and others have to be brought in to impart a wholesome intellectual dimension to our national endeavour. We are now talking of a massive mass movement cutting across political boundaries, reverberating across the length and breadth of our country.
Today, we have taken a small step forward. I want to congratulate Nirmala Deshpandeji and her dedicated band of colleagues for showing us the way. Let us move ahead conscious of the challenges that await us but fortified in our individual and collective resolve.

About the Author:
The site, pressbrief.in, is a veritable treasure house of videos, audios and rare photographs featuring the Gandhis. You can surf the site all the way back to Jawaharlal Nehrus the light has gone out of our lives speech. You can rewind to the rivetting 1999 Lok Sabha campaign in Rae Bareli, when Priyanka Vadra ferociously attacked Arun Nehru, calling him a backstabber. And you can watch all of Priyanka and Rahuls current campaign footage