[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 12 (Monday, March 27, 2000)]
[Pages 599-600]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 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. Every American who has been 
moved by the universal philosophy of nonviolence, every American whose 
life was

[[Page 600]]

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 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. A tape 
was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.