South African President Cyril Ramaphosa - chief guest of Indian Republic Day 2019; Inspiring 'Gandhi, Mandela Freedom Lecture' by Ramaphosa; Reference to truth, righteousness, peace and love
The big humanitarian struggles in Asia and Africa during the 20th century were freedom from oppressive and exploitative European colonization and in South Africa, freedom from white European oppression and domination over black African natives and brown Indians through Apartheid, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid. That Apartheid, essentially a ruthless form of white supremacy, existed in South Africa till the early 1990s, was an astonishing eyesore in the world, in my young adult days (from 1980).
I was born in post-Independence India, one and a half decades after India attained freedom from British colonial rule in 1947. So for me and people of my generation, colonial India was history, including the vital aspect of history that allows us to better understand the present, but not something that impacted us directly in even the slightest way. In my entire life so far in India, the inequality and hierarchies were and are based on money and power among Indians with white Europeans simply not in the picture at all.
But South Africa had white-supremacy apartheid! What a blot that was in the second half of the 20th century for the whole world!
Nelson Mandela was a towering figure and that he viewed Gandhi as an inspiring figure for his own leadership of native Africans of South Africa in their fight against Apartheid, was a matter of happiness and pride for Indians like me. It was a matter of great happiness for many Indians including me, when Apartheid was removed from South Africa and when Nelson Mandela was elected and sworn in as President of South Africa in April-May of 1994.
The very next Republic Day function of India on 26th January 1995 had Nelson Mandela as the chief guest! At that time I could not follow these events closely. But now I was able to dig up youtube videos of Mandela at that function! What a great contribution youtube and the Internet are, for people like me who are interested in viewing history videos!
India - Mandela Attends Republic Day Parade, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFMeEtwWl-U, 2 min. 20 secs.
Earlier day in his visit then: India - Mandela, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6hWM71ZuMY, 2 min. 5 secs.
The key persons Mr. Mandela interacts with then are President Shankar Dayal Sharma and Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao.
After 1995, the next South African president to be chief guest for India's Republic Day function is President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019! I am delighted that my country invited the South African President as India's Republic Day chief guest. I was delighted to view pics and videos of parts of President Ramaphosa's visit to India. Free black President of South Africa being honoured by independent India! Terrific stuff! Especially at a time when some parts of the world seem to have got affected by some human-values-wise very backward white supremacy ideology.
I found President Ramaphosa's "Gandhi, Mandela Freedom Lecture" to be thoughtful, well articulated and inspiring. Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFV_YJvZL_Q, 39 mins, published by SABC Digital News on 25th Jan. 2019. I must also say that President Ramaphosa's English enunciation is very good. [I hope this is not misunderstood as being patronizing. That is certainly not the intent. It is simply appreciation for good linguistic skills of President Ramaphosa. English is a global language and good English linguistic skills are a strong positive for political leaders when they play a global moral leadership role through lectures like this one.]
Here's the transcript of his lecture: https://www.gov.za/speeches/president-cyril-ramaphosa-gandhi-mandela-freedom-lecture-during-state-visit-india-25-jan.
A screenshot from the lecture video:
[To open pic in higher resolution, right-click on pic followed by open link (NOT image) in new tab/window. In new tab/window you may have to click on pic to zoom in.]
Before I get to some other inspiring extracts of Ramaphosa's speech, I would like to share my happiness at seeing the words, "sathya, dharma, shanti and prema" in the speech transcript in the context of Gandhi and Mandela's life! Wow! My beloved and revered Gurudev (spiritual master) Sri Sathya Sai Baba's key values mantra for betterment of the world - in the South African President's speech transcript! Extraordinary!
President Ramaphosa does not use the Sanskrit words but the English equivalent. At 35 mins 54 secs in the video he says (theirs refers to Gandhi and Mandela): "Theirs was a lifelong pursuit of truth, righteousness, peace and love in order to realize a better world."
The associated transcript sentence (towards the end of the speech) is: "Theirs was a lifelong pursuit of sathya, dharma, shanti and prema– of truth, righteousness, peace and love –in order to realise a better world."
Large extracts from this inspiring speech (from transcript) are given below:
Since the end of apartheid in 1994, India and South Africa have had close political, cultural, trade and strategic ties.
This cooperation has been further deepened since South Africa joined the BRICS group in 2010.
India was one of the first countries to recognise democratic South Africa.
The Red Fort declaration, signed by President Nelson Mandela during a state visit in 1997, is rooted in Afro-Asian solidarity and has given rise to a successful and enduring strategic partnership.
Our partnership is based on shared values and common interests, for we share a common vision of freedom, development, peace and prosperity – not just for our respective peoples but for all the peoples of the world.
As did Nelson Mandela in one of his letters from prison in 1980, I want to acknowledge and thank the people of India for the encouragement, inspiration and practical assistance they extended to us during our struggle for liberation.
We know that this is due to our deep friendship and the progressive internationalism of successive governments in India.
India’s leaders have been consistent in their solidarity with the liberation struggles not just of South Africa, but of others on the continent.
In addressing the Asian-African Conference in Bandung in 1955 Jawaharlal Nehru told delegates:
“Everything else pales into insignificance when I think of the infinite tragedy of Africa ever since the days when millions of Africans were carried away as galley slaves to America and elsewhere, half of them dying in the galleys…even now the tragedy of Africa is greater than that of any other continent, whether it is racial or political. It is up to Asia to help Africa to the best of her ability…because we are sister continents.”
We are indeed sister continents, and we are bound by the umbilical link of history.
...
Today’s lecture pays tribute to the life and times of two of the greatest leaders and statesmen of their generations, and perhaps of all time.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, fondly known as Gandhiji, and Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, known to all as Madiba.
Their legacies go far beyond their stature as the founding fathers of our two great independent nations, India and South Africa.
What they lived for, what they stood for and indeed what they fought for, continues to resonate with people across the world decades since their birth.
They have influenced generations of leaders not just in South Africa and India, but worldwide.
Their thought – on justice and liberty, on human dignity and human rights, and on non-violent resistance – continues to influence social and political movements in all four corners of the globe.
They shared a common passion for, and understanding of, the principle of sustainable development decades before the term was even coined.
They understood the importance of environmental conservation, of the development of rural communities, of agricultural self-sufficiency being critical to a nation’s success.
Gandhiji and Madiba were products of their time, and of the social, political, cultural and other influences that made and shaped them.
Yet they were men ahead of their time.
It is indisputable that they were visionaries.
We often take for granted the sheer force of will, courage of conviction and strength of character that would have been required at such times.
These were times when the clamour of the oppressed for justice and freedom was growing apace, matched only by the brutality of those who sought to crush them.
When liberation came, instead of retribution and vengeance, they extended an olive branch to the former oppressor.
They espoused ideals that weren’t necessarily popular – and never populist – but that were grounded in the strong belief that resistance against an unjust system could never succeed if the oppressed sank to the level of the oppressor.
Their techniques of civil resistance, coupled with the moral force of their ideas have endured through the passage of time.
They serve as beacons of hope for many who continue to suffer race, gender, class, ethnic, religious and other forms of oppression.
This year, India marks 150 years since the birth of Mahatma Gandhiji, which coincides with South Africa’s celebration of the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth.
We are privileged to claim these two icons as our own and to know, as we do, the deep impact and influence that Gandhi had on Mandela.
As President of South Africa, I am particularly proud that the seeds of Gandhiji’s political awareness were sown in my country.
Barely days after arriving in the country as a newly qualified barrister, he was forcibly removed from a train carriage reserved for whites only.
It spurred him to enter a life of political activism.
This and a series of other humiliations at the hands of the colonial authorities awakened in Gandhiji a keen passion for justice and equality among people.
He would later write that this forced him to reflect on the nature of oppression, on the law as an instrument of oppression, and on the pervasive belief of racial superiority held by the European colonisers in India, South Africa and elsewhere.
...
For Madiba, Gandhiji was an inspiration and a role model.
In tracing the evolution of his political thought, as laid out in his writings and speeches, we see clearly the confluence of history, experience and pragmatism – as we have seen with those of Gandhiji.
Gandhiji’s formative activism focused on the plight of the vulnerable Indian minority in South Africa.
His documented views, especially those around securing the franchise for Indians in South Africa, but also on western civilisation, on racial hierarchies in India, or on secularism, could today be read through a different prism.
But of this we are certain.
They believed in the innate dignity of the human being, in the moral authority of a non-violent mass resistance to oppression, and in the enduring strength of people’s power.
There are so many aspects to Nelson Mandela’s legacy – but he is most revered for his commitment to a peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy, one that brought together oppressed and oppressor.
He was able to put in process the healing of a deeply divided and broken society by promoting reconciliation between the races.
Nelson Mandela drew great inspiration from Gandhiji’s words, that ‘forgiveness is the attribute of the strong’.
Legacy is a complex phenomenon, and it is by no means assured, even for the most revered.
Both of these great leaders entered the political arena at a time vastly different to ours.
The issues they advocated for and how they articulated them; the political positions they took and the political decisions they made – will always be subject to interpretation and re-interpretation.
Those of us who have chosen a life of politics, will know too well that the actions we undertake at a particular time will by necessity be held up to public scrutiny by future generations.
They may be praised, but they may also be derided or condemned.
Yet we know that the transience of politics is one thing, and the enduring nature of universal values – of justice, of equality, of self-sacrifice, of solidarity with the underdog – are another.
In paying tribute to Gandhiji in 1997, Madiba said:
“He showed us that it was necessary to brave imprisonment if truth and justice were to triumph over evil. The values of tolerance, mutual respect and unity for which he stood and acted had a profound influence on our liberation movement, and on my own thinking. This inspires us today in our efforts of reconciliation and nation building.”
Gandhiji, like Nelson Mandela, was an internationalist.
Long before the issue of apartheid was put on the agenda of the United Nations, he travelled to India to publicise the oppression of the colonial regime.
It was the government of India that was the first to request the UN General Assembly to confront racial discrimination in South Africa and which banned trade with apartheid South Africa soon afterwards.
A hundred years since the birth of Nelson Mandela, and 150 years since the birth of Gandhiji, we are proud to follow in their footsteps of progressive internationalism.
We share a commitment to realising a global community of nations at peace with each other, and a world founded on social justice and human rights for all.
In his first address to the UN General Assembly, President Mandela spoke of the interdependence between nations – saying that ensuring that democracy, peace and prosperity prevail everywhere was “the great challenge of our age”.
As we take up our non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council, South Africa is acutely aware of the responsibility we have been entrusted with.
In Madiba’s honour, we have chosen for our term the theme: ‘continuing the legacy: Working for a Just and Peaceful world’.
The African Union’s Agenda 2063 aspires to an end of conflict and the silencing of the guns on the continent by 2020.
Serving on the UN Security Council affords us the opportunity to meaningfully contribute towards this goal.
...
Both Gandhi and Mandela wanted to see a world free of racial discrimination, but it was the grinding poverty experienced by millions of people in the Global South that pained them most.
They understood that unless poverty was addressed and eradicated, the highest levels of human progress could not be attained.
Through our cooperation on a range of platforms such as BRICS, IBSA, the Indian Ocean Rim Association, the G20, the G77 plus China and the Non-Aligned Movement, we will continue to work together in pursuit of a world free of poverty.
The India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum in particular is a practical expression of our shared values of democracy, justice, human rights, and good governance.
It prioritises inclusiveness, human development, peace, transparency, social justice and equity.
As like-minded emerging economies we recognise that we have a collective role to play in addressing and correcting the imbalances in the global economy.
We are determined to ensure that Africa is not relegated to the periphery of world affairs.
We will advance our foreign policy in a manner that champions the interests of Africa and her peoples.
...
Distinguished Guests
The legacies of Gandhiji and Madiba have never been more important than they are today.
They sacrificed personal advancement, both as lawyers, for the common good.
Theirs was a lifelong pursuit of [sathya, dharma, shanti and prema] – of truth, righteousness, peace and love –in order to realise a better world.
With so many parts of the world beset by conflict, we have to hold firm to the belief that peace can be attained, that universal peace is possible, and that no person is too small, or sees themselves as too unimportant or insignificant to play their part.
It was Gandhiji who told us – be the change you want to see in the world.
India and South Africa share a commitment to freedom and democracy, to non-racialism and tolerance, to social equity and the eradication of poverty.
Let us strengthen the bonds that exist between our two countries and our peoples as we look to the future.
--- end extracts of President Ramaphosa's speech ---
[President of India:] Gifted a painting of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela to President Cyril Ramaphosa. We are celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi and the 100th birth anniversary of Mandela. They both remain an inspiration for Africa, for India and for human dignity
Above Pic and caption courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/PresidentOfIndia/photos/a.250010018845331/567027513810245/, 25th Jan. 2019
Above Pic courtesy, https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1088790315987755009, 25th Jan. 2019
Given below are the Republic Day function video link and screenshot pics.
Republic Day Parade - 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_HsJ-61C68, 2 hrs. 35 mins, Streamed Live by President of India on 26th January 2019.
Above pics: Presidents Ramaphosa and Kovind starting out for the venue of R-Day function
Prime Minister Modi and the Army, Navy and Air Force chiefs paying tribute to the immortal soldier (Amar Jawan).
Chief Guest President Ramaphosa welcomed by PM Modi; Presidents and PM going towards their viewing gallery.
Widow and mother of martyr Lance Naik Nazir Ahmed Wani of Indian security forces receiving highest peacetime gallantry award of India, the Ashok Chakra.
President Kovind in the viewing gallery returns the salute of armed forces saluting him
The Indian tricolour flag
Lady officer of Indian Navy leads her group in the march-past.
Tableau depicting the event of humiliation by white supremacist Apartheid South African official (railway official perhaps) forcing out the barrister Mohandas Gandhi from whites only railway compartment, which was the turning point for Gandhi to get into political fight for justice, eventually leading him to become Mahatma Gandhi who led India to freedom from British rule.
------------
President Kovind hosted an 'At Home' reception on the occasion of Republic Day at Rashtrapati Bhavan today.
Above caption and pic courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/PresidentOfIndia/posts/567575397088790, 26th Jan. 2019
[I thank gov.za and President Ramaphosa of South Africa, Facebook and youtube pages of President Kovind of India, and Twitter post of Prime Minister Modi of India, and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extracts and pics from their website and posts, on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
I was born in post-Independence India, one and a half decades after India attained freedom from British colonial rule in 1947. So for me and people of my generation, colonial India was history, including the vital aspect of history that allows us to better understand the present, but not something that impacted us directly in even the slightest way. In my entire life so far in India, the inequality and hierarchies were and are based on money and power among Indians with white Europeans simply not in the picture at all.
But South Africa had white-supremacy apartheid! What a blot that was in the second half of the 20th century for the whole world!
Nelson Mandela was a towering figure and that he viewed Gandhi as an inspiring figure for his own leadership of native Africans of South Africa in their fight against Apartheid, was a matter of happiness and pride for Indians like me. It was a matter of great happiness for many Indians including me, when Apartheid was removed from South Africa and when Nelson Mandela was elected and sworn in as President of South Africa in April-May of 1994.
The very next Republic Day function of India on 26th January 1995 had Nelson Mandela as the chief guest! At that time I could not follow these events closely. But now I was able to dig up youtube videos of Mandela at that function! What a great contribution youtube and the Internet are, for people like me who are interested in viewing history videos!
India - Mandela Attends Republic Day Parade, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFMeEtwWl-U, 2 min. 20 secs.
Earlier day in his visit then: India - Mandela, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6hWM71ZuMY, 2 min. 5 secs.
The key persons Mr. Mandela interacts with then are President Shankar Dayal Sharma and Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao.
After 1995, the next South African president to be chief guest for India's Republic Day function is President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019! I am delighted that my country invited the South African President as India's Republic Day chief guest. I was delighted to view pics and videos of parts of President Ramaphosa's visit to India. Free black President of South Africa being honoured by independent India! Terrific stuff! Especially at a time when some parts of the world seem to have got affected by some human-values-wise very backward white supremacy ideology.
I found President Ramaphosa's "Gandhi, Mandela Freedom Lecture" to be thoughtful, well articulated and inspiring. Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFV_YJvZL_Q, 39 mins, published by SABC Digital News on 25th Jan. 2019. I must also say that President Ramaphosa's English enunciation is very good. [I hope this is not misunderstood as being patronizing. That is certainly not the intent. It is simply appreciation for good linguistic skills of President Ramaphosa. English is a global language and good English linguistic skills are a strong positive for political leaders when they play a global moral leadership role through lectures like this one.]
Here's the transcript of his lecture: https://www.gov.za/speeches/president-cyril-ramaphosa-gandhi-mandela-freedom-lecture-during-state-visit-india-25-jan.
A screenshot from the lecture video:
[To open pic in higher resolution, right-click on pic followed by open link (NOT image) in new tab/window. In new tab/window you may have to click on pic to zoom in.]
Before I get to some other inspiring extracts of Ramaphosa's speech, I would like to share my happiness at seeing the words, "sathya, dharma, shanti and prema" in the speech transcript in the context of Gandhi and Mandela's life! Wow! My beloved and revered Gurudev (spiritual master) Sri Sathya Sai Baba's key values mantra for betterment of the world - in the South African President's speech transcript! Extraordinary!
President Ramaphosa does not use the Sanskrit words but the English equivalent. At 35 mins 54 secs in the video he says (theirs refers to Gandhi and Mandela): "Theirs was a lifelong pursuit of truth, righteousness, peace and love in order to realize a better world."
The associated transcript sentence (towards the end of the speech) is: "Theirs was a lifelong pursuit of sathya, dharma, shanti and prema– of truth, righteousness, peace and love –in order to realise a better world."
Large extracts from this inspiring speech (from transcript) are given below:
Since the end of apartheid in 1994, India and South Africa have had close political, cultural, trade and strategic ties.
This cooperation has been further deepened since South Africa joined the BRICS group in 2010.
India was one of the first countries to recognise democratic South Africa.
The Red Fort declaration, signed by President Nelson Mandela during a state visit in 1997, is rooted in Afro-Asian solidarity and has given rise to a successful and enduring strategic partnership.
Our partnership is based on shared values and common interests, for we share a common vision of freedom, development, peace and prosperity – not just for our respective peoples but for all the peoples of the world.
As did Nelson Mandela in one of his letters from prison in 1980, I want to acknowledge and thank the people of India for the encouragement, inspiration and practical assistance they extended to us during our struggle for liberation.
We know that this is due to our deep friendship and the progressive internationalism of successive governments in India.
India’s leaders have been consistent in their solidarity with the liberation struggles not just of South Africa, but of others on the continent.
In addressing the Asian-African Conference in Bandung in 1955 Jawaharlal Nehru told delegates:
“Everything else pales into insignificance when I think of the infinite tragedy of Africa ever since the days when millions of Africans were carried away as galley slaves to America and elsewhere, half of them dying in the galleys…even now the tragedy of Africa is greater than that of any other continent, whether it is racial or political. It is up to Asia to help Africa to the best of her ability…because we are sister continents.”
We are indeed sister continents, and we are bound by the umbilical link of history.
...
Today’s lecture pays tribute to the life and times of two of the greatest leaders and statesmen of their generations, and perhaps of all time.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, fondly known as Gandhiji, and Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, known to all as Madiba.
Their legacies go far beyond their stature as the founding fathers of our two great independent nations, India and South Africa.
What they lived for, what they stood for and indeed what they fought for, continues to resonate with people across the world decades since their birth.
They have influenced generations of leaders not just in South Africa and India, but worldwide.
Their thought – on justice and liberty, on human dignity and human rights, and on non-violent resistance – continues to influence social and political movements in all four corners of the globe.
They shared a common passion for, and understanding of, the principle of sustainable development decades before the term was even coined.
They understood the importance of environmental conservation, of the development of rural communities, of agricultural self-sufficiency being critical to a nation’s success.
Gandhiji and Madiba were products of their time, and of the social, political, cultural and other influences that made and shaped them.
Yet they were men ahead of their time.
It is indisputable that they were visionaries.
We often take for granted the sheer force of will, courage of conviction and strength of character that would have been required at such times.
These were times when the clamour of the oppressed for justice and freedom was growing apace, matched only by the brutality of those who sought to crush them.
When liberation came, instead of retribution and vengeance, they extended an olive branch to the former oppressor.
They espoused ideals that weren’t necessarily popular – and never populist – but that were grounded in the strong belief that resistance against an unjust system could never succeed if the oppressed sank to the level of the oppressor.
Their techniques of civil resistance, coupled with the moral force of their ideas have endured through the passage of time.
They serve as beacons of hope for many who continue to suffer race, gender, class, ethnic, religious and other forms of oppression.
This year, India marks 150 years since the birth of Mahatma Gandhiji, which coincides with South Africa’s celebration of the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth.
We are privileged to claim these two icons as our own and to know, as we do, the deep impact and influence that Gandhi had on Mandela.
As President of South Africa, I am particularly proud that the seeds of Gandhiji’s political awareness were sown in my country.
Barely days after arriving in the country as a newly qualified barrister, he was forcibly removed from a train carriage reserved for whites only.
It spurred him to enter a life of political activism.
This and a series of other humiliations at the hands of the colonial authorities awakened in Gandhiji a keen passion for justice and equality among people.
He would later write that this forced him to reflect on the nature of oppression, on the law as an instrument of oppression, and on the pervasive belief of racial superiority held by the European colonisers in India, South Africa and elsewhere.
...
For Madiba, Gandhiji was an inspiration and a role model.
In tracing the evolution of his political thought, as laid out in his writings and speeches, we see clearly the confluence of history, experience and pragmatism – as we have seen with those of Gandhiji.
Gandhiji’s formative activism focused on the plight of the vulnerable Indian minority in South Africa.
His documented views, especially those around securing the franchise for Indians in South Africa, but also on western civilisation, on racial hierarchies in India, or on secularism, could today be read through a different prism.
But of this we are certain.
They believed in the innate dignity of the human being, in the moral authority of a non-violent mass resistance to oppression, and in the enduring strength of people’s power.
There are so many aspects to Nelson Mandela’s legacy – but he is most revered for his commitment to a peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy, one that brought together oppressed and oppressor.
He was able to put in process the healing of a deeply divided and broken society by promoting reconciliation between the races.
Nelson Mandela drew great inspiration from Gandhiji’s words, that ‘forgiveness is the attribute of the strong’.
Legacy is a complex phenomenon, and it is by no means assured, even for the most revered.
Both of these great leaders entered the political arena at a time vastly different to ours.
The issues they advocated for and how they articulated them; the political positions they took and the political decisions they made – will always be subject to interpretation and re-interpretation.
Those of us who have chosen a life of politics, will know too well that the actions we undertake at a particular time will by necessity be held up to public scrutiny by future generations.
They may be praised, but they may also be derided or condemned.
Yet we know that the transience of politics is one thing, and the enduring nature of universal values – of justice, of equality, of self-sacrifice, of solidarity with the underdog – are another.
In paying tribute to Gandhiji in 1997, Madiba said:
“He showed us that it was necessary to brave imprisonment if truth and justice were to triumph over evil. The values of tolerance, mutual respect and unity for which he stood and acted had a profound influence on our liberation movement, and on my own thinking. This inspires us today in our efforts of reconciliation and nation building.”
Gandhiji, like Nelson Mandela, was an internationalist.
Long before the issue of apartheid was put on the agenda of the United Nations, he travelled to India to publicise the oppression of the colonial regime.
It was the government of India that was the first to request the UN General Assembly to confront racial discrimination in South Africa and which banned trade with apartheid South Africa soon afterwards.
A hundred years since the birth of Nelson Mandela, and 150 years since the birth of Gandhiji, we are proud to follow in their footsteps of progressive internationalism.
We share a commitment to realising a global community of nations at peace with each other, and a world founded on social justice and human rights for all.
In his first address to the UN General Assembly, President Mandela spoke of the interdependence between nations – saying that ensuring that democracy, peace and prosperity prevail everywhere was “the great challenge of our age”.
As we take up our non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council, South Africa is acutely aware of the responsibility we have been entrusted with.
In Madiba’s honour, we have chosen for our term the theme: ‘continuing the legacy: Working for a Just and Peaceful world’.
The African Union’s Agenda 2063 aspires to an end of conflict and the silencing of the guns on the continent by 2020.
Serving on the UN Security Council affords us the opportunity to meaningfully contribute towards this goal.
...
Both Gandhi and Mandela wanted to see a world free of racial discrimination, but it was the grinding poverty experienced by millions of people in the Global South that pained them most.
They understood that unless poverty was addressed and eradicated, the highest levels of human progress could not be attained.
Through our cooperation on a range of platforms such as BRICS, IBSA, the Indian Ocean Rim Association, the G20, the G77 plus China and the Non-Aligned Movement, we will continue to work together in pursuit of a world free of poverty.
The India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum in particular is a practical expression of our shared values of democracy, justice, human rights, and good governance.
It prioritises inclusiveness, human development, peace, transparency, social justice and equity.
As like-minded emerging economies we recognise that we have a collective role to play in addressing and correcting the imbalances in the global economy.
We are determined to ensure that Africa is not relegated to the periphery of world affairs.
We will advance our foreign policy in a manner that champions the interests of Africa and her peoples.
...
Distinguished Guests
The legacies of Gandhiji and Madiba have never been more important than they are today.
They sacrificed personal advancement, both as lawyers, for the common good.
Theirs was a lifelong pursuit of [sathya, dharma, shanti and prema] – of truth, righteousness, peace and love –in order to realise a better world.
With so many parts of the world beset by conflict, we have to hold firm to the belief that peace can be attained, that universal peace is possible, and that no person is too small, or sees themselves as too unimportant or insignificant to play their part.
It was Gandhiji who told us – be the change you want to see in the world.
India and South Africa share a commitment to freedom and democracy, to non-racialism and tolerance, to social equity and the eradication of poverty.
Let us strengthen the bonds that exist between our two countries and our peoples as we look to the future.
--- end extracts of President Ramaphosa's speech ---
[President of India:] Gifted a painting of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela to President Cyril Ramaphosa. We are celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi and the 100th birth anniversary of Mandela. They both remain an inspiration for Africa, for India and for human dignity
Above Pic courtesy, https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1088790315987755009, 25th Jan. 2019
Given below are the Republic Day function video link and screenshot pics.
Republic Day Parade - 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_HsJ-61C68, 2 hrs. 35 mins, Streamed Live by President of India on 26th January 2019.
Above pics: Presidents Ramaphosa and Kovind starting out for the venue of R-Day function
Prime Minister Modi and the Army, Navy and Air Force chiefs paying tribute to the immortal soldier (Amar Jawan).
Chief Guest President Ramaphosa welcomed by PM Modi; Presidents and PM going towards their viewing gallery.
Widow and mother of martyr Lance Naik Nazir Ahmed Wani of Indian security forces receiving highest peacetime gallantry award of India, the Ashok Chakra.
President Kovind in the viewing gallery returns the salute of armed forces saluting him
The Indian tricolour flag
Lady officer of Indian Navy leads her group in the march-past.
Tableau depicting the event of humiliation by white supremacist Apartheid South African official (railway official perhaps) forcing out the barrister Mohandas Gandhi from whites only railway compartment, which was the turning point for Gandhi to get into political fight for justice, eventually leading him to become Mahatma Gandhi who led India to freedom from British rule.
------------
President Kovind hosted an 'At Home' reception on the occasion of Republic Day at Rashtrapati Bhavan today.
Above caption and pic courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/PresidentOfIndia/posts/567575397088790, 26th Jan. 2019
[I thank gov.za and President Ramaphosa of South Africa, Facebook and youtube pages of President Kovind of India, and Twitter post of Prime Minister Modi of India, and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extracts and pics from their website and posts, on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
Comments
Post a Comment