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When you think about how you'd like the world to look in 20 years - in Africa, in Asia, in Latin America, even in the Middle East - it's hard to imagine how we could build the future we want without a partnership between the world's two greatest democracies. After all, India and America are natural allies, each conceived in liberty, each finding strength in diversity, each seeing in the other a reflection of its own aspirations for a more humane and just world. But even though our democratic ideals gave us a common starting point, and our dreams of peace and prosperity gave us a common destination, for too long there was too little common ground between us.
I came to India last year with the hope that my visit would help the American people to see a new India and to better understand this proud nation that has given so many gifts to the world. In turn, I hoped that my visit would help India to better understand America. I believed that listening to one another, we could lay the foundation for a true partnership between our two nations based on mutual respect and common endeavour. I was heartened to see that following that many Indians now believe that a new day has dawned between us.
Of all the displays of grace that I saw on that trip last year, none compare to the overwhelming response of the Indian people to the victims and families of the devastating earthquake in Gujarat. Over the past two months, the tireless efforts of all those involved in the relief effort have proven that the worst natural disaster in Independent India's history has brought out the best in its people.
But as news of the tragedy fades from world headlines, the urgency of the work still to be done must not. That is why I am returning to India - to tour the affected areas, to meet with families and relief agencies, and to bring new attention to the challenge of reconstruction that remains.
As India knows all too well, there is much to be done. The numbers alone numb the senses - more than 20,000 dead, 1.7 million injured, one minion homeless. More than 1,200 schools were destroyed. More than one million homes must be repaired or rebuilt. For all the work that has been completed, damage estimates still reach above 350 billion rupees. And there is no way of accounting for livelihoods lost and lives disrupted.
Nothing can erase the devastating loss of the earthquake. Perhaps the best way to honor those who were lost in this terrible tragedy is work with the survivors to create a better future.
One positive development over the past two months is that the tragedy in Gujarat has given impetus to the creation of a new organisation in America called the American India Foundation. This is a group of distinguished Indian-Americans who have contributed a great deal to our country, and who want to deepen their engagement with India to help India realise its vision for the 21st Century. This week, more than 20 distinguished members of this Foundation will tour Gujarat with me,
We hope to work with the people of this region to achieve their vision of a new Gujarat - to work with government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGO's), and concerned Indians not just to build Gujarat back, but to build it better. In the short term, we hope to work with local officials in any way they need us to provide relief to meet basic needs and help Gujarat get back on its feet, be it rebuilding schools and providing teachers; repairing hospitals and providing doctors; or empowering people to reopen businesses by making credit available.
In the long-term, we want to be a resource to the people of Gujarat as they work toward their dream of bringing this region and its people into the 21st Century: by wiring schools for the Internet and other tools of the new economy; by bringing the next fife-saving devices into hospitals and health centres; by using new technology to help local craftsmen market their products across India and across the world; by including local villagers in the planning process to avoid the well-intentioned but widely acknowledged mistakes of Latur and construct new buildings designed not only to withstand future earthquakes, but to meet the needs of local citizens. For centuries, the vision of the Indian people helped change the world. That same vision is at work in villages across the region today, and we will be honored to be a part of it.
While we pray that no future disasters will visit India, we know that nature has not been so kind. As many in Parliament have expressed, we share the hope that our common efforts to rebuild Gujarat will serve as a model for future efforts, particularly as Parliament works toward establishing a federal emergency management agency for India. Ibis is intended to help the people of India endure everything from tornadoes to floods to hurricanes and emerge, in the end, even stronger.
All of this work will not be completed
quickly. But the partnership I spoke of last year between the people of
the United States and the people of India is not subject to time limits
or deadlines. 'This is how partners in spirit become partners in fact.
I pledge to do all I can to help make that goal a reality.
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