PM Narendra Modi stated on Thursday that India's democratic spirit is ingrained in the country and is supported by its values. He claimed that the nation had overcome post independence concerns about its future by turning its diversity into strength and demonstrating to the world that its democratic institutions and processes provide stability, speed, and scale.
Following the event's opening, he addressed the 28th conference of speakers and presiding officers of the Commonwealth at the central hall of Samvidhan Sadan, the former Parliament building.
He stated that democracy in India entails last-mile delivery for citizens and working for everyone's welfare without discrimination. "Democracy delivers in India," he declared.
In front of the audience, which included leaders from numerous Global South nations, Modi stated that India has been actively promoting its interests on international forums and has worked to make sure that its advances are advantageous to them. India prioritized the concerns of the Global South on the international agenda during its tenure as G20 president.
"When the world is undergoing unprecedented changes, then it is also time for Global South to chart a new path," Modi stated, noting that India is fulfilling its commitment to the sustainable development goals of the Commonwealth countries and is home to more than half of their population. In this regard, he mentioned the vaccinations and other medical assistance that India had given to other nations during the Covid pandemic.
He turned to India's historic democratic history, pointing out that although the Buddhist Sangha used to hold open talks and make choices by consensus or voting, the country's more than 5,000 year old Vedas relate to assemblies where people congregated to think and reach agreements on various subjects.
"A 10th century inscription from Tamil Nadu describes a village assembly that operated with democratic values," he stated. There were explicit guidelines for decision making and responsibility. Our democratic principles have been put to the test over time, upheld by variety, and reinforced by successive generations.
According to him, thousands of publications and magazines are published, over 900 TV stations are broadcast, and hundreds of languages are spoken in India's diversified democracy.
This level of diversity management is uncommon in society. Because of the solid foundation of our democracy, India embraces such variety. India is referred to be the "Mother of Democracy."
He pointed out that the 2024 LS election, which had 980 million registered voters, was not only the biggest democratic exercise in human history but also had a record number of women participating.
Speaker Om Birla raised worries about the misuse of developing technology like artificial intelligence (AI) when addressing delegates, who included 61 presiding officers from 46 countries.
However, he also noted that these technologies had increased efficiency. Effective measures are required to fight the threat posed to democracies, he said, as their misuse has created problems with misinformation, cybercrime, and societal discord.
He stated that welfare-focused laws and people centric policies have enhanced India's more than seven decade legislative journey.
