Two weeks ago we came to the Soviet Union and soon we shall be leaving this great country. During this period we have travelled some 13,000 kilometres and visited many a famous city and seen many wonderful things. But most wonderful of all has been the welcome that we received wherever we went and the affection that the people showered upon us. We are infinitely grateful for this affection and welcome and I cannot express my thanks to the people of the Soviet Union adequately in words. Nevertheless, I wish to express our gratitude to you, Mr. Prime Minister, to your Government and to your people, and I would beg of you to convey this expression of our deep feeling to the people of the Soviet Union who have so honoured us.
We came here to convey to the people of this great country greetings and good wishes of the Indian people and we go back laden with your affection and good wishes for our country and our people. We did not come here as strangers, for many of us have followed with deep interest the great changes and developments that have taken place in this country. Almost contemporaneously with your October Revolution under the leadership of the great Lenin we in India started a new phase of our struggle for freedom. Our people were engrossed in this struggle for many years and faced heavy repression with courage and endurance. Even though we pursued a different path in our struggle under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, we admired Lenin and were influenced by his example. In spite of this difference in our methods there was at no time an unfriendly feeling among our people towards the people of the Soviet Union.
We did not understand some of the developments in your country even as you might not have understood much that we did. We wished the Soviet Union well in the great and novel experiment she was making and tried to learn from it where we could. The backgrounds of our respective countries—our geography, history, traditions, culture and the circumstances wherein we had to function—were different.
We believed that the domination of one country over another was bad and while we struggled for our own freedom we sympathised with the endeavours of other countries suffering alien or autocratic rule to free themselves. Each country and people are conditioned by their own past and by the experience they go through and they thus develop a certain individuality. They cannot progress under an alien rule or when something is imposed on them. They can grow only if they develop their own strength and self-reliance and maintain their own integrity. We have all to learn from others and we cannot isolate ourselves, but this learning cannot be fruitful if it is an imposition.
We believe in democracy and in equality and in the removal of special privileges and we have set ourselves the goal of developing a socialistic pattern of society in our country through peaceful methods. Whatever shape that pattern or democracy might take, it must lead to open access to knowledge and equal opportunity to all.
It is in recognition of the right of each country to fashion its own destiny that the Indian Government and the People’s Government of China agreed to the Five Principles to govern their relations with each other. These principles were: Respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty; Non-aggression; Non-interference in each other’s internal affairs; Equality and mutual benefit; and Peaceful co-existence. Subsequently these principles were accepted by Burma and Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Government has also expressed its approval of them.
At the Bandung Conference these principles were elaborated into ten and embodied in a declaration on world peace and cooperation. Thus over thirty countries have accepted them. I have no doubt that these principles of international behaviour, if accepted and acted upon by all countries of the world, would go a long way to put an end to the fears and apprehensions which cast dark shadows over the world.
The progress of science and of its offspring, technology, has changed the world we live in, and recent advances in science are changing the way men think of themselves and of the world. Even conceptions of time and space have changed and vast expanses open out for us to explore the mysteries of nature and to apply our knowledge for the betterment of humanity.
Science and technology have freed humanity from many of its burdens and given us this new perspective and great power. This power can be used for the good of all, if wisdom governs our actions; but if the world is mad or foolish, it can destroy itself just when great advance and triumphs are almost within its grasp.
The question of peace therefore becomes of paramount importance if this world of ours is to make progress or indeed even survive. Peace in our view is not merely abstention from war but an active and positive approach to international relations leading, first, to the lessening of the present tension through an attempt to solve our problems by methods of negotiation, and then, to a growing cooperation between nations in various ways—cultural and scientific contacts, increase in trade and commerce, and exchange of ideas, experience and information.
We should endeavour to remove all walls and barriers to the growth of our minds and hearts such as come in the way of international cooperation. There is no reason why different countries having different political or social or economic systems should not co-operate in this way, provided there is no interference with one another and no imposition or attempt to dominate.
Wherever I have gone in the Soviet Union I have found a passion for peace. I believe that the vast majority of the people in every country hunger for peace, but fear of others often clouds their minds and makes them act in a different way. We must shed this fear and hatred, and try to cultivate the climate of peace. Out of war or threat of war or continuous preparation for war no peace can emerge.
In India we have been devoted to the cause of peace, and even in our struggle we have endeavoured to pursue methods of peace. For our own progress as well as for causes that are dear to us, peace is essential. We will therefore strive for peace to the utmost of our ability and co-operate with other nations in this vital task.
I should like to congratulate the Government of the Soviet Union on the several steps it has taken in recent months which have lessened world tension and have contributed to the cause of peace. In particular, I trust that the recent proposals of the Soviet Union with regard to disarmament will lead to progress being made towards the solution of this difficult problem. Disarmament is essential if fear is to be removed and peace assured.
We plan for our material and cultural advance in our respective countries. Let us also plan for the peaceful cooperation of different countries for the common good and the elimination of war.
Countries make pacts and alliances often through fear of some other country or countries. Let our coming together be because we like each other and wish to co-operate, and not because we dislike others and wish to do them injury.
As I speak to you, the United Nations is holding a special session in San Francisco to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its foundation. The United Nations is based on a Charter which is nobly worded and aims at peaceful co-operation. Hopes that the peoples of the world had in this world organisation have not been wholly fulfilled and much has happened that has come in the way of the ideals of the Charter. I earnestly hope that in this new decade of the U.N. which is now beginning, these hopes will find fulfilment. But the U.N. cannot represent all the peoples of the world if some nations are kept out of its scope.
More particularly we have felt that the non-recognition by the U.N. of the great People’s Republic of China is not only an anomaly and not in keeping with the spirit of the Charter, but is a danger to the promotion of peace and the solution of the world’s problems. One of the most vital problems today is that of the Far East and this cannot be settled without the goodwill and co-operation of the People’s Republic of China. I trust that we shall soon see the People’s Republic of China taking its rightful place in the U.N. and that attempts being made to find a solution to the problems of the Far East will meet with increasing success.
We live in a vital, developing world going forward to new discoveries and new triumphs which place increasing power at man’s disposal. Let us hope this power will be controlled and governed by wisdom and tolerance, with each nation contributing to the common good.
I have been deeply impressed by the great achievements of the Soviet Union. I have seen the transformation of this vast land through the industry of its people and the great urge that drives them forward to better their own condition. I have admired the music, dancing and superb ballets that I have seen. I have been impressed most of all by the great care taken by the State and by the people of children and the younger generation of this great country. I wish to thank you again, Mr. Prime Minister, and your Government and your people for your friendliness and generous hospitality.
The people of India wish you well and look forward to co-operation with you in many fields of common endeavour for the good of our respective countries as well as for the larger cause of humanity.
This is part of ThePrint’s Great Speeches series. It features speeches and debates that shaped modern India.