Speech at India's Independence Day, Indian Flag Hoisting Ceremony

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Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen and – I see there are many children here as well – friends of India, and of Norway,

It is an honour for me to congratulate India on Independence Day and to take part in celebrating its 60th anniversary.

Freedom came to India on 15 August 1947. On that day, the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, captured the mood of his nation when he referred to: “a moment which comes but rarely in history, when we step out of the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance”.

Looking back today, 60 years later, how do we view this moment? How has India fared in its endeavour to give voice to its soul?

It has done so – to all observers outside and within the country – to an impressive degree. India is a country of continental proportions – in many ways. Ancient Indian civilisation has excelled in arts, humanities and science, and also – as Amartya Sen reminded us in The Argumentative Indian – in philosophical discourse.

India still towers in these and many other fields. Modern India is an established regional power, and the second most populous country in the world.

It has embarked, as the President said today, on a steady development of economic growth. Millions of Indians are being lifted out of poverty, day by day. However, the real success story of modern India lies perhaps not so much in the domain of economics as in that of politics – and in that of deep-rooted human values. Pluralism of religion is a cornerstone of the Indian republic. Pluralism of language is another. India is a land of rich diversity and variety.

It is a deeply engrained democratic approach that has given India its identity over the past half-century. This inclusive spirit has helped the country to stay democratic, tolerant and open-minded. India takes pride in being a country for all. So, indeed, I think the message from me should be that we all should look to India!

Friends, venner,

La meg også si noen ord på norsk på en dag som denne. Våre to land er svært forskjellige, i geografi, historie, kultur, klima, økonomi og på mange andre områder.

Men våre to nasjoner møtes – og det er det viktigste. De inspirerer og lærer av hverandre. Det skjer i alle fall på tre felt, som jeg vil nevne – gjennom vår felles tradisjon i å føre en demokratisk forankret politikk – og i vår felles politiske vilje til engasjement – og, for det tredje, i aktiv deltakelse i internasjonale organer, i møte med dagens globale utfordringer som klima, miljø, helse, sikkerhet. – Som også Presidenten nevnte i sin tale til nasjonen.
 
Det Norge og India har til felles er en holdning – tuftet på kjerneverdier – som betydningen av sosial samhørighet, fellesskap, viljen til å sikre at alle mennesker behandles med verdighet, med respekt. Denne holdningen går igjen som en rød tråd også i vårt bilaterale forhold, som spenner over et vidt felt, med samarbeidsprogrammer, politisk dialog, innenfor kunst, forskning, utdannelse, handel og utvikling.

Og som ett eksempel: Norge og India har besluttet å samarbeide om FNs tusenårsmål nummer fire, som handler om barn og helse. I regi av det norsk-indiske partnerskapsinitiativet skal det i fem av Indias delstater gjennomføres tiltak for å redusere barnedødeligheten i landet med 500 000 hvert år de fem neste årene.   

Venner, distinguished guests,

One point I want to make is this: mindsets matter. They shape the way we see the world and our place in it. If we want to build globally integrated, open societies for the 21st century, we must strengthen constructive dialogue between peoples, cultures, religions. For in my view, it is diversity that gives humanity its promise – as India proves.

A Cambridge historian [F. W. Maitland] used to remind his students that: “what is now in the past was once in the future”. India at 60 represents both our past and our future. It is the past in that it has reproduced – albeit more forcefully and intensely – the conflicts that arise in a modernising and industrialising society. It is the future in that it anticipated, by some 50 years, our present effort, also in Norway, to create a truly multi-religious and multiethnic community. And I am delighted that Indians in Norway are so well integrated.

Again, it is my pleasure, on behalf of the Norwegian Government to congratulate you all and your country on Independence Day, on its 60th anniversary. Many happy returns of the day!