New Delhi: The Vice President of India, Shri. M. Venkaiah Naidu represented India on the occasion of the centenary of the conclusion of the protracted First World War in Paris, France. The event commemorated the sacrifices of thousands of brave Indian soldiers who had fought gallantly in the world war.
About 14 lakh Indian soldiers fought with valor and distinction during the World War I on numerous battle fields: In France and Belgium, Aden, Arabia, East and West Africa, Galli Poli in Turkey, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Persia, Russia, China and Salonika in Greece. About 74,000 Indians were killed in this war. About 1.40 lakh Indian soldiers took part in the battle theater in France and Belgium where 9300 brave Indian soldiers gave up their lives in this battle field alone fighting on the side of righteousness that India has always stood for.
The Vice President unveiled the Indian War Memorial in Villers-Guislain, a town about 200 kms from Paris, commemorating the difficult battles fought by Indian soldiers of whom over 40,000 died during the battle of Cambrai. Indian Cavalry comprising of the Deccan Horse, Hadson’s Horse, Puna Horse, Central India Horse and 18 Cavalry had charged at German positions during this battle in territories and harsh hostile climate. The initiative taken by the French government to organize various events including a 3 day global peace forum served as a painful reminder of the battles of the last century and the current threats to peace and harmony in the current world.
The Vice President expressed hope that these events would serve as occasions to draw appropriate lessons from the context and the consequences of the World War I and would remind the world leaders of the need to collectively address the challenges confronting humanity today. He added that the present day’s inescapable reality is that we are living in an increasingly interdependent world. Shri Naidu observed that geographical boundaries were becoming less and less relevant as the destinies of the citizens across the world are increasingly getting inter linked. He opined that multilateralism has emerged as the most effective modality for decision-making and conflict resolution.
The Paris Peace Forum meet provided an opportunity for about 70 global leaders to look at the challenges to the multilateralism and work in unison to prevent any disaster hitting mankind in the form of growing protectionism.
The Vice President participated in a high level panel discussion titled ‘Dialogue of Continents on Global Governance’ focusing on issues of multilateralism, international institutions and global governance challenges and the means to craft sustainable peace. He reminded fellow leaders that thousands of brave Indian soldiers had sacrificed their lives 100 years ago fighting for the cause of righteousness and in the interest of peace, human liberty and freedom.
Citing that India has always believed in the principle of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ which means the World is one family, the Vice President asserted that there was a certain need to guide the world on the path of collective endeavor for collective benefit. He asserted that there is a certain need for the world to ensure effective multilateralism that brings all the nations on a common platform to explore common solutions for challenges faced by humanity. “We need united efforts of the world to deal with global development priorities such as eradication of poverty, providing education, health care, employment and gender parity”, he said.
The Vice President also highlighted terrorism and climate change as the major challenges being faced by the humanity and the need for collective efforts to address these issues. He told the fellow leaders who attended the Paris events that India would always be willing to play its role in improving the lot of mankind across the territories.
The Vice President met leaders like the US President, Mr. Donald Trump, the Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, the German Chancellor, Ms. Angela Merkel and the French President, Mr. Emmanuel Macron. All of them praised the development efforts and the successes being registered by India in its quest for contributing to the progress of humanity. Shri Naidu also met Ms. Audrey Azoulay, the Director General UNESCO and held discussions on how UNESCO can be further reformed to fulfill its essential mandate related to education, science and culture. He also addressed the Indian Diaspora.
