Globalization and Democracy".

I congratulate the Inter-Parliamentary Union and FICCI for jointly organizing this conference. In my long career in Parliament and in politics I have participated in many meetings on democracy. In recent years after globalization became a buzzword, I have also commented often on this subject. However it is for the first time that I have come across an effort that seeks to understand democracy and globalization not separately but in the way they impact on each other and on society at large. This I think is the right approach. It is also the Indian approach to understanding any subject under the sun. Both our ancient and our modern philosophers have adopted a holistic and integral approach to understanding the natural as well as the social reality around them. The Indian mind does not look at any issue solely in its parts but in the way the parts relate to each other shape the external environment and are in turn shaped by it.

Distinguished participants every era in human history is driven by one Big Idea or the other. The dynamic of the era that we live in however is powered by two Big Ideas - Democracy and the concept of One Inter-Dependent World. If the 18th and the 19th centuries belonged to the age of colonialism, the first part of the 20th century was swept by a worldwide wave of de-colonization. The end of colonial rule also saw the beginning of the global march of democracy.

The 20th century marked a big leap forward for humanity. Many countries that gained independence embraced democracy without any prompting persuasion or pressure. India, as you all know, was the most prominent among them. Many others took time after gaining political freedom to adopt a democratic system of governance but adopt it they certainly did. Those dictatorships that resisted the will of the people were swept away. Totalitarian regimes tottered. Ideologies that rationalized tyranny were isolated. Barring a few exceptions most nations of the world have today accepted democracy as the natural system of governance. Let there be no doubt in anyone's mind that democracy will triumph even in the few remaining outposts of autocracy.

Why did democracy gain worldwide acceptance? After all the peoples of the world belong to different cultures. They have their origins in different civilizations. They also are at different levels of socio-economic development. Despite this divergence democracy has become their convergent choice. This only goes to prove that democracy is a universal value. It is not more suited to the rich and less suited to the poor. It does not make itself more amenable to the developed than to the less developed nations. Women do not choose it any less than men do. Likewise it is not the favorite of the educated more than it is of the unlettered. As election after Indian election has shown the poor and the less educated are far more enthusiastic participants in the democratic process than their more privileged counterparts. This is not surprising. For they have known the power of democracy. In the past fifty years more and more under- privileged and under-represented sections of our society are asserting their democratic rights. Our Constitution has proactively provided for several measures of affirmative action to remove social disabilities provide educational opportunities and promote the economic uplift of the poor and marginalized. Their steadily growing political empowerment has shown democracy to be a great leveler.

This is not the story of India alone. Every democratic country in its own unique way has experienced how despite all its deficiencies people's rule is the only right rule. Nations have also learnt that even the deficiencies of democracy can be satisfactorily addressed only in a democratic way.

Friends no one can now dispute that democracy has now become a global idea and a global ideal. However the question that many people around the world have been asking is: "Has globalization embraced the idea and the ideals of democracy?" In other words democracy has been globalized but has globalization been democratized? This issue deserves to be debated far more seriously than has been the case so far. I would like to share some of my thoughts on this topic. All of us know that globalization has become a reality. Indeed an inescapable reality. The world has become more inter-dependent than ever before vindicating what India's ancient rishis had proclaimed thousands of years ago: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - namely the Entire World Is One Family.

Unfortunately globalization has so far been projected merely as a magical phenomenon of technology and trade and of the mesmerizing movement of finance capital and knowledge capital. No doubt it is all this. Nobody could have imagined even a few decades ago that trillions of dollars of investible capital can be moved from one end of the world to another in just a few seconds and with just a click of a computer mouse. By the way who could have imagined that the mouse would one day come to mean something that most office-workers would always keep their hands on? Who could have imagined that the Web would one day come to mean something that millions around the world would gladly get entangled into? The Information and Communication Revolution promises to make anywhere and anytime connectivity an affordable reality for every one on Earth. The global trade in goods and services promises prosperity to all countries and to all the citizens of every country on Earth.

If this is the great promise of globalization all of us should seriously ask ourselves: Why globalization has not met with enthusiastic acceptance by all the people all over the world? The answer according to me lies in our failure to cast globalization in a democratic mold. Whatever its promise - and I have no doubt that it is a believable promise - globalization is yet to demonstrate that it is of the people for the people and by the people. Nearly two-thirds of humanity is yet to benefit from its fruits even though the riches and the comforts of the remaining one-third have grown faster than before. This divide is unsustainable. Indeed it is potentially a threat to peace stability and orderly progress. That is why we need to urgently reform the process of globalization. We need to redefine its objectives and reorient its priorities. Its objectives and priorities will have to become the same as those of democracy - economic justice, social justice, gender justice and balanced development of all the regions all the races and all the communities in every nation and in all nations. I need not add that the rich nations who have benefited more from globalization have a greater responsibility to reform it.

The new global order will have to reflect the spirit of democracy in all its institutions - above all in the United Nations which is the most important global institution. Its democratization is long overdue. Indeed this was the consistent and overarching theme of what most heads of State and Government said at the recently concluded Millennium Summit of the United Nations. To those members of the business community who are participating in this conference I reiterate the appeal I have made before. It is your responsibility not only to run your businesses better by seizing the opportunities of globalization but also to reach its fruits to the society that sustains you. Both the Government and business community have to work in close partnership to demonstrate to the people that globalization works for their good that economic reforms will make their lives better. We shall succeed in our reforms initiative to the extent that we can build popular support around them.

Friends, I am happy that this international conference is being held in India. We are the world's largest democracy. One of the proudest achievements of this most diverse nation in the world since its Independence fifty years ago has been its zealous defence of democracy. India has not only defended democracy but has also steadily deepened and developed it. Of course we are not satisfied with all that we have achieved. We are well aware of the shortcomings of our democracy and we are determined to overcome them. One of the many ways in which we seek to enrich our democracy is by harnessing the full potential of globalization. As you all know the process of economic reforms that we began a decade ago is steadily gaining momentum. External liberalization is an integral part of our economic reforms although we shall implement it in a manner and at a pace which is consistent with our national needs. This we believe is the democratic right of every nation. We shall fully use the power of science and technology to modernize our economy. We shall fully seize the opportunities afforded by foreign investments and global trade to speed up our socio-economic development. We are confident that a prosperous India which is home to one-sixth of the human race will be a powerful contributor to the progress of both democracy and globalization around the world. In this process we are ever ready to learn from the positive experiences of democracies around the world. That is why I am heartened by the presence of parliamentarians of so many countries at this conference. I congratulate the Inter-Parliamentary Union for making such mutually beneficial interaction possible.

Let me conclude by wishing this conference all success.

Thank you."