09-25-2009, 08:09 AM
<b>Varun Gandhi wows Houston</b>
Sept 20, 2009
The 2009 annual gala of Houstons Indo American Charity Foundation (IACF) drew more than 500 of the most prominent Houstonians, including US Congressman Pete Olson and Indian Consul General Shri. Sanjiv Arora, who thronged the Inter Continental Hotel to welcome a dynamic, young politician from India.
IACF, which supports scholarships and programs in the areas of education, healthcare, children and families, invited Shri. Varun Gandhi, because it felt he best represents young and new India. It's President said, "Seeing a vibrant, articulate speaker with an interest in doing something for the underprivileged is what the new generation of Indian Americans will relate to.Their knowledge of India is
throughtheir parents' eyes. The chance to hear something positive from a young person who will be in the forefront of India's growth as a true democracy is of great interest to the young professionals who live here."
29 year-old Varun Gandhi, the first Indian parliamentarian to be called to this prestigious annual gala, is a Law & Economics graduate from the London School of Economics and a post graduate in Public Policy from the University of London. A prolific and precocious reader with excellent literary taste, he has authored his own volume of poetry titled "The Otherness of Self" besides a variety of articles on
issues of National Security and External Affairs.
In his key note address, Varun Gandhi spoke lucidly and thoughtfully about Indias Place in the New Global Order Charity & Social Services in the Emerging Economy. His speech was superbly articulated, extremely profound and deeply moving - proving beyond doubt that inside this soft-spoken young man, there lie a heart of immense compassion, a boundless intellect and a grassroots activist's
dedication to serve India. In his address, Gandhi shared his views on a young and resurgent India and talked about Indias development challenges and the importance of economic growth through scientific development and adoption of intelligent policies. He also addressed the issues of environmental pollution, prolongued monsoon delays that is crippling the agricultural sector and the rapid melting of the
Gangetic glacier that affects drinking water supply for 400 million Indians.
Repeatedly stressing that India is a country abundant in human and natural resources, Gandhi maintained that India was not a poor country but a poorly managed country. He urged the proper use of technology, adoption of skill based training and efficient utilization of the worlds greatest workforce and Indias greatest resource viz. the 60% of
India population who were under the age of 30, totally 630 million people double the US population. He pointed numerous schemes and ingenious inventions pioneered by ordinary Indians and NGOs that have reduced maternal mortality by 50%, addressed the rural populations needs for eye-care, disaster management, technology and eco-friendly
vehicles.
Gandhis refined appeal - calling for Global Atruism and the need for NRIs to pitch in and help their motherland - resonated well with the Indian-American audience who clapped vigorously when he reminded them that no matter how far they had come, both in terms of distance and
knowledge, they were essentially Indians a people who ate with their hands and spoke from their hearts. And speak from his heart, he certainly did.
*****
Salient points of his 35-minute-speech on 'India's Place in the New Global Order: Charity and Social Services in the Emerging Economy', at the Hotel Intercontinental in Houston :
"India had a great opportunity 60 years ago", said Varun, adding "Yet, we chose the wrong path, though with good intentions. We chose outdated ideologies then. The world was following capitalism, but we chose outdated ideas like socialism. It weakened our democracy and only created factions".The firebrand leader was speaking During the
speech, when an audience member complained that he could not hear the BJP leader, Gandhi shot back, "This is the first time somebody is accusing me of being soft spoken."
"You left the country in search of a dream. I want India to be that dream. India will be the world's next super power and the next century is India's century," he said, adding, "in spite of the high level of economic growth, many Indians don't have enough to eat." He further added, "India is not a poor country, but a poorly managed country," drawing a hearty applause from the audience.
He pointed out, "the system has failed to provide the requisite help to the people with regard to basic necessities. Even the
constitutional guarantees are not reaching the people", stating, "That is not right. It is not democracy. Every Indian should be assured of dignity and justice and the opportunity to earn for his family". He added, "Today, 60 per cent or 630 million people in India are under the age of 30. That is double the population of the United States. It is the creative work force. How do we utilise it," he said
He emphasized, "Poverty is still a problem. Forty years ago, we spoke of 'Garibi Hatao' but we are still in the same situation. The super rich get richer. A tiny percentage of the population owns 37 per cent of India's riches. Four Indians own 16 percent of the GDP. The poor are getting poorer." And, "Poverty is not inevitable. It is a system and it is only a symptom. There is a lack of big ideas to cope with the problems of 1.2 billion people."
Criticizing the education system, he said, "Officially, 70 lakh
children are outside the school system. The education imparted in government schools is outdated. Only two per cent of students get trained for some kind of work, while that figure is as high as 96 per cent in Korea and 80 per cent in Japan. No schools or colleges teach anything about environmental issues".
Sept 20, 2009
The 2009 annual gala of Houstons Indo American Charity Foundation (IACF) drew more than 500 of the most prominent Houstonians, including US Congressman Pete Olson and Indian Consul General Shri. Sanjiv Arora, who thronged the Inter Continental Hotel to welcome a dynamic, young politician from India.
IACF, which supports scholarships and programs in the areas of education, healthcare, children and families, invited Shri. Varun Gandhi, because it felt he best represents young and new India. It's President said, "Seeing a vibrant, articulate speaker with an interest in doing something for the underprivileged is what the new generation of Indian Americans will relate to.Their knowledge of India is
throughtheir parents' eyes. The chance to hear something positive from a young person who will be in the forefront of India's growth as a true democracy is of great interest to the young professionals who live here."
29 year-old Varun Gandhi, the first Indian parliamentarian to be called to this prestigious annual gala, is a Law & Economics graduate from the London School of Economics and a post graduate in Public Policy from the University of London. A prolific and precocious reader with excellent literary taste, he has authored his own volume of poetry titled "The Otherness of Self" besides a variety of articles on
issues of National Security and External Affairs.
In his key note address, Varun Gandhi spoke lucidly and thoughtfully about Indias Place in the New Global Order Charity & Social Services in the Emerging Economy. His speech was superbly articulated, extremely profound and deeply moving - proving beyond doubt that inside this soft-spoken young man, there lie a heart of immense compassion, a boundless intellect and a grassroots activist's
dedication to serve India. In his address, Gandhi shared his views on a young and resurgent India and talked about Indias development challenges and the importance of economic growth through scientific development and adoption of intelligent policies. He also addressed the issues of environmental pollution, prolongued monsoon delays that is crippling the agricultural sector and the rapid melting of the
Gangetic glacier that affects drinking water supply for 400 million Indians.
Repeatedly stressing that India is a country abundant in human and natural resources, Gandhi maintained that India was not a poor country but a poorly managed country. He urged the proper use of technology, adoption of skill based training and efficient utilization of the worlds greatest workforce and Indias greatest resource viz. the 60% of
India population who were under the age of 30, totally 630 million people double the US population. He pointed numerous schemes and ingenious inventions pioneered by ordinary Indians and NGOs that have reduced maternal mortality by 50%, addressed the rural populations needs for eye-care, disaster management, technology and eco-friendly
vehicles.
Gandhis refined appeal - calling for Global Atruism and the need for NRIs to pitch in and help their motherland - resonated well with the Indian-American audience who clapped vigorously when he reminded them that no matter how far they had come, both in terms of distance and
knowledge, they were essentially Indians a people who ate with their hands and spoke from their hearts. And speak from his heart, he certainly did.
*****
Salient points of his 35-minute-speech on 'India's Place in the New Global Order: Charity and Social Services in the Emerging Economy', at the Hotel Intercontinental in Houston :
"India had a great opportunity 60 years ago", said Varun, adding "Yet, we chose the wrong path, though with good intentions. We chose outdated ideologies then. The world was following capitalism, but we chose outdated ideas like socialism. It weakened our democracy and only created factions".The firebrand leader was speaking During the
speech, when an audience member complained that he could not hear the BJP leader, Gandhi shot back, "This is the first time somebody is accusing me of being soft spoken."
"You left the country in search of a dream. I want India to be that dream. India will be the world's next super power and the next century is India's century," he said, adding, "in spite of the high level of economic growth, many Indians don't have enough to eat." He further added, "India is not a poor country, but a poorly managed country," drawing a hearty applause from the audience.
He pointed out, "the system has failed to provide the requisite help to the people with regard to basic necessities. Even the
constitutional guarantees are not reaching the people", stating, "That is not right. It is not democracy. Every Indian should be assured of dignity and justice and the opportunity to earn for his family". He added, "Today, 60 per cent or 630 million people in India are under the age of 30. That is double the population of the United States. It is the creative work force. How do we utilise it," he said
He emphasized, "Poverty is still a problem. Forty years ago, we spoke of 'Garibi Hatao' but we are still in the same situation. The super rich get richer. A tiny percentage of the population owns 37 per cent of India's riches. Four Indians own 16 percent of the GDP. The poor are getting poorer." And, "Poverty is not inevitable. It is a system and it is only a symptom. There is a lack of big ideas to cope with the problems of 1.2 billion people."
Criticizing the education system, he said, "Officially, 70 lakh
children are outside the school system. The education imparted in government schools is outdated. Only two per cent of students get trained for some kind of work, while that figure is as high as 96 per cent in Korea and 80 per cent in Japan. No schools or colleges teach anything about environmental issues".