Text of PM’s address to the Indian Community in Myanmar

Your rights will remain the way they are. I will try to ensure that all your rights are being granted to you. I shall come again. 

As a foreigner you might have experienced the shifting perspective of the world towards you in the past few months. The manner in which the other powerful governments are looking at India, you as Indians must feel proud at being an Indian. 

But when such an opportunity arises, our responsibility also increases manifold. Earlier no one considered us to be important enough to be noticed but now every move of ours is scrutinized with utmost attention. Hence the Indian society – not just the government or the country but even the Indian communities around the world are being watched closely… we are being evaluated closely. They are trying to find a way to reach us. The ones who did not even respond to our namastes (greetings) earlier are now trying to hug us. You all must have experienced this, haven’t you? Do you see the change? Do you feel people are treating you with much more respect now? 

This is our one such prized possession which we have to protect as well as enhance. Irrespective of the country we stay in, we should constantly strive to be worthy of their love and respect, contributing our best towards their betterment and also our own. However, it shouldn’t be the case that only our neighbours prosper; you should also prosper and set new benchmarks of development and success! 

India and Myanmar are historically linked. We fought for our Independence together. And even today the people of this country treat India with reverence due to Buddha. We are constantly striving to be of use to our neighbouring nations as we feel that it is our duty. A few days back, I had made an announcement that we will build and send into orbit, a satellite that will be dedicated to SAARC. And while I am in this country, I would like to announce that the benefits of this dedicated satellite will be provided to Myanmar as well. The main benefits of this satellite will be seen in the health sector, education and long-distance education sector and tele-medicine sector. By doing this, we are also trying to think about ensuring maximum benefits for planet Earth. We have decided to shoulder a few responsibilities and announce them in the upcoming SAARC meeting that is to be held in Nepal. One of the responsibilities is ensuring the inclusion of Myanmar in the SAARC nations and try to rid the country off Polio. India is a polio-free country now. Polio cases have not been reported in the country for the past five-seven years but the disease persists in our neighbouring countries. Pakistan has reported several such cases. Whenever a member of the family suffers from Polio, the entire family is rendered crippled. This is a charitable work and we are working towards creating a plan to help our neighbouring countries rid themselves off the crippling disease. We will obviously need to procure the necessary permissions from the respective countries and we look forward to do so in the SAARC meeting where we can also discuss the plan and ensuring its effective execution. It is a charitable deed which has always been India’s USP. We have always been recognised for our charitable work towards humanity. We would constantly strive to excel and not left behind in this space which has always been our strength. India has recently launched a campaign called ‘Make In India’ where we are beckoning entrepreneurs from around the world to come to India and partake in the benefits of the industrial development. India is a country of opportunities and possibilities in addition to being the ‘youngest’ country in the world. Our workforce constitutes largely of the youth and we want to exploit this resource to touch newer heights of development. 

In three days here, I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of leaders from around the globe. My experience in this country has been very pleasant. The manner in which the government and people of this country have planned and executed this welcoming ceremony is indeed commendable. I feel sorry that I wasn’t able to spend some more time with all of you but I am really impressed with the manner in which with discipline you have made use of the limited time to the optimum. I will praise your organizational ability of the disciplined manner in which the ceremony was executed, everywhere I go. I am very thankful to you all! 

(The original speech was in Hindi, this is the English rendering. Original speech remains the authoritative version)