Varun Gandhi wows Houston
Sept 20, 2009
The 2009 annual gala of Houstons Indo American Charity Foundation
(IACF) drew more than 500 of the most prominent Houstonians, including
US Congressman Pete Olson and Indian Consul General Shri. Sanjiv
Arora, who thronged the Inter Continental Hotel to welcome a dynamic,
young politician from India.
IACF, which supports scholarships and programs in the areas of
education, healthcare, children and families, invited Shri. Varun
Gandhi, because it felt he best represents young and new India. It's
President said, "Seeing a vibrant, articulate speaker with an interest
in doing something for the underprivileged is what the new generation
of Indian Americans will relate to.Their knowledge of India is
throughtheir parents' eyes. The chance to hear something positive from
a young person who will be in the forefront of India's growth as a
true democracy is of great interest to the young professionals who
live here."
29 year-old Varun Gandhi, the first Indian parliamentarian to be
called to this prestigious annual gala, is a Law & Economics graduate
from the
London School of Economics and a post graduate in Public
Policy from the University of London. A prolific and precocious reader
with excellent literary taste, he has authored his own volume of
poetry titled "The Otherness of Self" besides a variety of articles on
issues of National Security and External Affairs.
In his key note address, Varun Gandhi spoke lucidly and thoughtfully
about Indias Place in the New Global Order Charity & Social Services
in the Emerging Economy. His speech was superbly articulated,
extremely profound and deeply moving - proving beyond doubt that
inside this soft-spoken young man, there lie a heart of immense
compassion, a boundless intellect and a grassroots activist's
dedication to serve India. In his address, Gandhi shared his views on
a young and resurgent India and talked about Indias development
challenges and the importance of economic growth through scientific
development and adoption of intelligent policies. He also addressed
the issues of environmental pollution, prolongued monsoon delays that
is crippling the agricultural sector and the rapid melting of the
Gangetic glacier that affects drinking water supply for 400 million
Indians.
Repeatedly stressing that India is a country abundant in human and
natural resources, Gandhi maintained that India was not a poor country
but a poorly managed country. He urged the proper use of technology,
adoption of skill based training and efficient utilization of the
worlds greatest workforce and Indias greatest resource viz. the 60% of
India population who were under the age of 30, totally 630 million
people double the US population. He pointed numerous schemes and
ingenious inventions pioneered by ordinary Indians and NGOs that have
reduced maternal mortality by 50%, addressed the rural populations
needs for eye-care, disaster management, technology and eco-friendly
vehicles.
Gandhis refined appeal - calling for Global Atruism and the need for
NRIs to pitch in and help their motherland - resonated well with the
Indian-American audience who clapped vigorously when he reminded them
that no matter how far they had come, both in terms of distance and
knowledge, they were essentially Indians a people who ate with their
hands and spoke from their hearts. And speak from his heart, he
certainly did.
*****
Salient points of his 35-minute-speech on 'India's Place in the New
Global Order: Charity and Social Services in the Emerging Economy', at
the Hotel Intercontinental in Houston :
"India had a great opportunity 60 years ago", said Varun, adding "Yet,
we chose the wrong path, though with good intentions. We chose
outdated ideologies then. The world was following capitalism, but we
chose outdated ideas like socialism. It weakened our democracy and
only created factions".The firebrand leader was speaking During the
speech, when an audience member complained that he could not hear the
BJP leader, Gandhi shot back, "This is the first time somebody is
accusing me of being soft spoken."
"You left the country in search of a dream. I want India to be that
dream. India will be the world's next super power and the next century
is India's century," he said, adding, "in spite of the high level of
economic growth, many Indians don't have enough to eat." He further
added, "India is not a poor country, but a poorly managed country,"
drawing a hearty applause from the audience.
He pointed out, "the system has failed to provide the requisite help
to the people with regard to basic necessities. Even the
constitutional guarantees are not reaching the people", stating, "That
is not right. It is not democracy. Every Indian should be assured of
dignity and justice and the opportunity to earn for his family". He
added, "Today, 60 per cent or 630 million people in India are under
the age of 30. That is double the population of the United States. It
is the creative work force. How do we utilise it," he said
He emphasized, "Poverty is still a problem. Forty years ago, we spoke
of 'Garibi Hatao' but we are still in the same situation. The super
rich get richer. A tiny percentage of the population owns 37 per cent
of India's riches. Four Indians own 16 percent of the GDP. The poor
are getting poorer." And, "Poverty is not inevitable. It is a system
and it is only a symptom. There is a lack of big ideas to cope with
the problems of 1.2 billion people."
Criticizing the education system, he said, "Officially, 70 lakh
children are outside the school system. The education imparted in
government schools is outdated. Only two per cent of students get
trained for some kind of work, while that figure is as high as 96 per
cent in Korea and 80 per cent in
Japan. No schools or colleges teach
anything about environmental issues".
Thanks & Regards,
Sudhir Srinivasan
B.Arch, Dip.ID, Dip.CAD, Dip.PM, AIIA, IIID, ARIAI
| Architect | M: +353-87-285 9086 |
