Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Let me start by extending my sincere well wishes to the President, Prime Minister and the friendly people of India, including those residing in the Maldives, on the happy occasion of India’s Republic Day.
I thank His Excellency, High Commissioner Mulay for inviting me to speak tonight.
Over the past year, the Maldives and India have developed a very special relationship.
Co-operation between our two countries is greater and more extensive than ever before.
Last week, I travelled to Chennai to build further bridges with Indian business.
During that trip, the Maldives signed an agreement with Apollo Hospitals, that will see a $25 million upgrade of IGMH in Male’.
This is just one example of how the Maldives’ relationship with India brings benefits for our two countries, and our two peoples.
I look forward to our relationship deepening in future.
And I look forward to working with His Excellency, who has been so instrumental in forging the friendship between India and the Maldives.
We meet this evening to celebrate the 60th anniversary of one of India’s greatest achievements: the adoption of a new constitution and the establishment of a democratic republic.
India’s constitution, adopted three years after Independence, finally brought to an end to the colonial system of governance that had enslaved India and thwarted its development.
The new constitution enshrined democratic rights and fundamental freedoms; vesting power in the people.
Of course, the India of yesteryear was a very different place from India today.
India in the 1950s was poor, underdeveloped and reeling from the trauma of partition.
Back then, there were people who said India was not ready for democracy...
…people who dismissed the constitution as just a piece of paper with words.
But India’s founding fathers knew that the words of the constitution represented not just the laws of a new society, but also the hopes and aspirations of a nation’s future.
India took the bold decision to found a republic based on the principles of democracy and freedom.
Of course, the sceptics still claimed that democracy would never work in India.
There were cynics who said India was too poor for democracy to take root.
There were doubters who claimed India was too big for democracy to function.
And there were pessimists who claimed India was too diverse for democracy to thrive.
Sixty years later, and India has proved all the doubters wrong.
India has lifted millions of its citizens out of poverty.
It has developed a modern and competitive economy.
And India remains the world’s largest, most vibrant democracy – shining a beacon of freedom and hope around the world.
India is rising, peacefully, to take its place as one of the 21st Century’s superpowers.
And I believe the world is better off for it.
Looking back, sixty years later; it is easy to pretend that India’s transition to democracy was easy.
It is tempting, with the passage of time, to remove the stains, airbrush the blemishes and paper over the cracks of history.
But it would be foolish to pretend that India’s transition was all plain sailing.
It is only when we examine the past critically, that we are able to learn from others’ experience.
And I believe that the Maldives has much to learn from India.
Our own constitution is less than two years old.
And our democracy is only just starting to take root.
Just as India faced growing pains after Independence, so the Maldives has teething problems of its own.
Newly independent India faced threats from its neighbours; while most of its population was living in abject poverty.
The Maldives is fortunate that it enjoys friendly relations with all its neighbours.
But our new democracy also faces serious challenges.
The new administration has inherited crippling levels of debt, stacked up in the last years of the former regime.
Our youth have been plagued by rampant drug abuse.
And many in our society remain scarred by the torture and cruelty of the past thirty years.
India overcame its growing pains by embracing its new democracy and respecting fundamental liberties.
India’s democratic system has brought long term political stability.
And I believe, in the Maldives, democracy also gives our country the greatest hope for the future.
Despite its faults, history shows us that democracy is the best guarantor of freedom, peace and prosperity.
And the Maldives is particularly grateful for India’s ongoing assistance during our fragile early years of democratic rule.
The Maldives can learn from India’s embrace of democracy, freedom and the rule of law.
And just as we can learn from India’s dedication to a free society, I believe we can also learn from India’s commitment to a free economy.
Over the past fifteen years, India has undergone a tremendous economic revival.
India has removed the bureaucracy and regulations that stood in the way of free market enterprise.
And India has opened itself up to the world.
As a result, India is booming and is rapidly becoming one of the world’s largest economies.
India’s reforms are lifting millions out of poverty.
The reforms are creating new opportunities for young people.
And India now leads the world in industries such as renewable energy and information technology.
The Maldives can learn from India’s economic transformation.
For too long, the Maldives’ economy has been centrally planned, heavily regulated and micro managed by the government.
This has prevented growth, repelled investment and thwarted people’s aspirations.
By opening up our economy to the world, the Maldives can also enjoy economic success.
As I mentioned earlier, last week we signed an agreement with Apollo Hospitals to improve IGMH to the tune of $25 million.
That agreement means that soon, Maldivians will no longer have to make expensive trips abroad to receive healthcare.
Instead, everyone will be able to enjoy affordable and high quality healthcare in Male’.
Private investment in the transport network is also improving people’s lives.
In just one year, people living in three provinces have been connected to a transport network – the first public transport system in our country’s history.
Soon, everyone in the Maldives will be connected to the transport network - allowing easy and cheap travel between islands.
Over the next few months and years, more investments in infrastructure, schools and housing will boost the economy and improve peoples’ daily lives.
As we gather here to celebrate the marvel that is India’s modern republic, we must learn the lessons of history.
A free people and a free economy have transformed India into the vibrant, peaceful and increasingly prosperous place it is today.
In the Maldives, we must also entrench democracy and liberate the economy.
By taking these steps today, I believe that everyone in the Maldives can enjoy a brighter, happier and more prosperous tomorrow.
