PRIME MINISTER’S ADDRESS
from page 9

¢ Our National Income has grown by 6 percent;

Having crossed 200 million tonnes, production of

foodgrains is higher today than ever before;

© Food stocks are higher today than ever. For this

our kisans deserve our felicitations. Our agricul-

tural scientists are also worthy of our praise.

Industrial production is reviving at an energetic

pace;

© The new initiatives which have been taken in infra-

structure have infused a new purposefulness right

across the economy;

At over 30 billion dollars our foreign exchange

reserves are higher than ever before;

© The Sensex in the stock market has risen to record
levels. In spite of Kargil, our companies have been
able to increase their market value by over Rs.
200,000 crore.

e The off-take of cement for building houses is 22

percent higher than it has ever been;

Facilities which were known only to the rich, to the

few, and in our cities alone — insurance for their

output, credit cards — are now available to, and

are being taken advantage of by farmers and by

others in our far-flung villages.

And we are stronger than ever. Pokharan has given
us enviable strength and self-confidence. AGNI-2 has
been tested — in the face of pressures — and will be
integrated into our defence arsenal.

PSLV and INSAT 2-E have been launched. What a
feat our scientists have accomplished: sending not
just one, but three satellites on a single rocket far out
into space, and placing each of them at the precise
point in space, which had been fixed. This has been
a magnificent achievement.

Yes, one thing has certainly come down. It is the rate
of inflation. At 1.3 percent, this is the lowest rate in
seventeen years.

There has also been a sea change in the way the
world sees us. Last year we had taken a major step
— Pokharan-2 — which was essential for our secu-
rity, a step which had been contemplated for long
but which could not be taken because of the pres-
sures which were put on successive governments.

Some did not agree with our assessment. Some even
sought to portray us as an irresponsible nation. How-
ever today, within a year, in the councils of the world,
“India” is synonymous with “responsibility”.

The world has seen that we will protect our national

interest at all costs: whether it is in developing an

atomic weapons capability, whether it is in develop-

ing missile-capability, whether it is in driving adver-

saries out of our land:

¢ The world has seen that we will withstand all pres-
sures that are intended to keep us from taking the

10 INDIA NEWS « August 15, 1999

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measures that we consider necessary in our na-
tional interest;

¢ Also the world has seen that whatever we will do
will be for self-defence, never for aggression.

But the world has also seen that we are capable of
doing so with utmost restraint, with utmost respon-
sibility. These were the principles, which guided us
when Pakistan forced the Kargil war on us. Our re-
sponse was well-thought out. It was so effective that
it left the enemy stunned.

The world today has well realized that we would do
whatever is required to protect our country. The world
has also understood that we would act with utmost
responsibility and restraint even when so gravely pro-
voked. This has raised the reputation of India in the
international community.

The Lahore bus journey was taken to improve our
relations with Pakistan. This made the world realize
that we truly want peace and friendship. This journey
was not a showpiece. It was a serious and well-con-
sidered move, which we made knowing fully well that
there could be risks in it.

Our honesty made an impact on the international
community. Later, when the bus to Lahore was taken
to Kargil, it did not take much time for the world to
realize that Pakistan not only violated the Shimla
Agreement and the Lahore Declaration, but it also
crossed the borders of trust and goodwill.

That is what tured the world’s opinion. Pakistan stood
completely isolated on the world stage. India received
widespread support in the world for the first time.

I do hope that the people of Pakistan too will reflect
on these events. We reached out to you with a mes-
sage of friendship. What did we gain in return? Hun-
dreds lost their lives. Relations were spoilt. The re-
sources which ought to have been used for economic
and social development were instead spent on war.

We need peace in order to raise the standard of living
of the people in both countries. For peace, we need
trust. Has trust increased on account of all that hap-
pened in Kargil, Does the path of armed intrusion
lead to friendship?

Terrorists are being trained in Pakistan. Camps are
being run for them. Hordes of terrorists are being
sent into India. They are killing innocent people. They
are targeting women and children. How can mean-
ingful dialogue take place in this atmosphere?

Pakistan must realize that no problem can be re-
solved if it continues to promote terrorist activities.
We shall not let the evil designs of terrorists succeed.
Today, Punjab is free of terrorism. The people of
Jammu and Kashmir are fed up with terrorism. Even
Assam and the North-East are affected.

All of us want peace. People are worried about the
future of their children.

Terrorism is a curse on the world. When it is com-