[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
[March 21, 2000]
[Pages 507-508]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a State Dinner Hosted by President Kircheril 
Narayanan of India in New Delhi
March 21, 2000

    Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, 
distinguished guests. First, on behalf of the American delegation, let 
me thank you for your warm hospitality, and indeed, I thank all of you 
for making us feel so welcome.
    As you pointed out, Mr. President, it was 5 years ago next week when 
my wife and daughter first came to New Delhi. I confess I was a little 
jealous of them then because I wanted to come. And I am delighted 
finally to be here today.
    One of my country's most beloved writers, Mark Twain, once wrote 
that India, and I quote, ``is the sole country under the Sun that all 
desire to see, and having seen once, would not trade that glimpse for 
the shows of all the rest of the globe combined.''
    India has given profound gifts to the world for thousands of years 
now. Nearly half of humanity practices the four great religions that 
were born here, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism. The whole world 
has been influenced by Indian culture.
    Indian thinkers have enriched every science known to humanity. And I 
welcome the presence of so many of your scientists here tonight. 
However, I must confess there are many American high school students who 
wish that ``Aryabhatiya'' had kept his work on trigonometry to himself. 
[Laughter] The computer age would hardly be possible at all without the 
decimal system invented in India. And appropriately enough, 30 percent 
of the world's software engineers today are Indian.

[[Page 508]]

    Every American who has been moved by the universal philosophy of 
nonviolence, every American whose life was transformed by the civil 
rights movement, owes a debt to India. Today I had the great honor of 
visiting the Gandhi Memorial. Two weeks ago, in my own country, I 
visited Selma, Alabama, which is one of the sacred sites of our civil 
rights movement, where the words of Martin Luther King and the marches 
of ordinary citizens both echoed the ideas of Gandhi.
    My country has been enriched by the contributions of more than a 
million Indian-Americans, from Vinod Dahm, the father of the Pentium 
chip, to Deepak Chopra, pioneer of alternative medicine, to Sabeer 
Bhatia, creator of the free-mail system Hotmail, the free E-mail system.
    Now, next Sunday when the Academy Awards are given out in Los 
Angeles, more than a few people, not only in India but in America, will 
be rooting for director M. Night Shyamalan and his remarkable movie ``The Sixth Sense,'' nominated 
for best picture.
    So we have gotten a lot from India, and we have neglected our 
friendship for too long. Today we are proud to be your partners, your 
allies, your friends in freedom.
    As a President who has the good fortune to have been selected by an 
electorate that casts about 100 million votes, I can hardly imagine a 
nation with over 600 million eligible voters. I don't know how you 
please them all. Or should I say, 60 crore.
    I didn't know what a crore was until I got here this time. Now I can 
go home and suggest to my Vice President 
that he have a new slogan: Four crore for Al Gore! [Laughter]
    We have a lot to give the world in the richness of democracy. One of 
the great things about a democracy is, it is a system which allows us to 
resolve our differences through conversation, not confrontation. I've 
enjoyed the conversation that we began here today. I am grateful that we 
found common ground. I am convinced we have laid the foundation for a 
new respectful partnership based on our oldest and most enduring values.
    In the days to come, may our two nations always remain examples of 
tolerance and the power of diversity. May we build societies that draw 
upon the talents and energies of all our people. May we preserve the 
beauty and natural richness of this small planet that we share. May we 
work together to make the difficult choices and the necessary 
investments, as Nehru once instructed, ``to advance the larger cause of 
humanity.'' In the spirit of that partnership and that vision, I ask you 
all to join me in raising a glass to the President, the Prime 
Minister, and the people of this 
wonderful nation which has welcomed us.

Note: The President spoke at 8:55 p.m. in the Banquet Hall at 
Rashtrapati Bhavan. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Atal 
Behari Vajpayee of India. The transcript released by the Office of the 
Press Secretary also included the remarks of President Narayanan.