NEW DELHI, Oct 6: In an oblique reference to Pakistan, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani today called for international isolation of terrorists and a firm resolution about not giving them any support even if countries lacked the capacity to confront them. In his inaugural address at the 19th General Assembly of the Eastern Regional Organisation for Public Administration (EROPA) here, Mr Advani said the world must realise that terrorism is a threat which can confront any nation. One thing, he said, the world had learnt from the 9/11 incidents was that all countries should firmly resolve not to support terrorists in any way even if they do not have the capacity to fight them. "Let us all resolve that we will not give any kind of assistance to terrorists. We may or may not have the capacity to fight them. But this should be the resolve that under no circumstances should we support terrorists," he added. Recalling Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s "prophetic" address to the US Congress in 2000 in which he had said that distance did not provide immunity against terrorism, Mr Advani said terrorist attacks on the WTC a year later proved that distance did not provide any immunity to nations against terrorism. "Distance may have provided immunity to countries in the two world wars. But distance does not provide any such immunity to terrorist attacks. The Prime Minister’s words proved prophetic," he added. He said India’s experiences on terrorism during the past two decades had been tragic as so many innocent men, women and children had become victims of terrorism. He exhorted the participants of the conference to discuss the issue and told them that they would be doing a great help to society. Expressing happiness over the changes taking place in India in various fields, particularly it, the Deputy Prime Minister said that previously, the focus in Indian politics would be on political ideology. But during the past few years it had shifted to good governance. "Change is the only thing that remains unchanged... Previously political debate would be the principal determinant of people’s choice of their Government and democracy. We have tried to see that the focus shifts from ideology to good governance. We have been making efforts and are succeeding...", he said. "You are administrators. You have little to do with ideology. You may subscribe to marx...But your focus is on how to improve administration. And that is what makes the difference," he told the participants. Mr Advani said the public administration faced major changes and challenges—expectation of good governance, technological changes, change in the area of liberalisation, globalisation and massive quest for knowledge. Elaborating, he said that with income and awareness levels increasing, the demand for better services had been growing. However, technology had provided an opportunity for fulfilling this desire. It could be leveraged for better governance and better satisfaction of people’s needs. E-governance is the need of the day and public administration must equip itself to use it as a tool to provide better services. In the area of liberalisation, the entry of private sector into the services, which were earlier Government preserve, had come to stay. The appropriate induction of the private sector in a competitive environment had led to considerable improvement in the quality of services. A public official and a private sector manager could not be thought of as being on opposite sides but should be viewed more as partners in the common task of nation building. "Liberalisation has swept most part of the world and has come to stay in India as well," he declared. Referring to globalisation, Mr Advani said nobody could isolate himself from developments around the world and therefore, national policies had to be intrinsically linked with various international events. There was also a need to be aware of what was happening in the world and unless this was done, preparedness for the future would be inadequate. Globalisation had brought with it considerable gains and opportunities for every country. It had also brought several challenges which the public administration of everry country must be equipped to face. This, he said, called for a very high degree of professionalism among publiuc administrators and an ability to compete in the global world. The first challenge, therefore, was to adequately equip public administration to look at opportunities and threats in a global context and not remain limited to national boundaries alone. This would call for a major change in mindsets that prevailed in the past. He said intensive efforts would be needed in human resource development and not only should public representatives and public officials be adequately equipped, but the entire education system must also get children to think globally and not only within the narrow confines of their own countries. It was only through such means that a globally thinking society could be built. Mr Advani said that change that was going on in the world, had to be managed by sound leadership, one that was willing to think differently and innovate. "Change needs champions who are not deterred by initial setbacks and are able to persist in their efforts with the conviction that they are going in the right direction. They must recognise that initial hurdles are an inherent part of any change management process and they should not give in the face of initial adversity," he added. (UNI) |
