Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund
and Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations
70th Convocation Address Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Mumbai, 10 May 2010
My sister, Purnima recently delivered this convocation address.
Mr. Krishna Kumar, Chair of the Board of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences; Dr. Parsuraman; Director of TISS; Members of the Board; Graduating students, Parents and family members of the graduating students; Faculty; staff; and other Students of TISS; Distinguished guests; Colleagues and friends.
It was with a deep sense of honour and privilege that I accepted the invitation from the Chair of the Board of TISS and the Director to deliver the Convocation address of the 70th convocation of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
Empowering generations of women
Thirty-seven years ago I was sitting in this audience on the lawns of TISS receiving my Master's degree. I was in the audience for the first time as a 7 year old, watching my mother receive her Master's Degree, and the Award for being the Best Student of the Year. I was proud to watch her get her doctoral degree much later in 1976 from TISS. More recently, in 2001, my niece Amrita received her Master's at TISS. So my sense of honour is deepened by the fact that over the last 55 years, three generations of my family have benefited from this premier institution and all that it has to offer.
The fact that all my higher educational qualifications come from India and more so, from TISS, is a matter of great pride to me. Standing here today, I recall with gratitude my teachers - Professor M. S. Gore, Professor Gauri Rani Banerjee, Professor Suma Chitnis, Professor Grace Mathew, Professor Ramachandran, and many others who shaped my thinking. I am even prouder that I served as a faculty member of TISS for 13 years, learning lessons from my students and colleagues that continue to serve me till today.
The alumni and faculty of TISS have contributed to global transformation- in India and abroad- by speaking out against inequities, standing up for rights of the voiceless and fostering innovation to promote development. I remember the many illustrious students that have gone through the portals of TISS, some of whom were friends and batch mates: Medha Patkar, Srilatha Batliwala, Sheela Patel, Suneeta Dhar, Pradeep Prabhu, and several others including many of the faculty of TISS and the College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan. Collectively, we must be proud of what we have achieved as TISS graduates.
The journey ahead
As you, the graduates of 2010, stand poised to face a journey in your life which will involve tackling diverse challenges – both personal and professional - and contributing to the amazing story of India's development, I thought it would be befitting to talk today about life as a journey and what it can bring, and what ideals and values helped me along the way.
Let me reflect on four journeys – some which have influenced my life, and others which have influenced yours as well. I will reflect only momentarily on my own journey at TISS and comment briefly on the journey of TISS as an institution, before talking about the amazing journey of India since the time I graduated. I will conclude with some reflections from my journey within the United Nations, where I have served – in WHO, UNAIDS and UNFPA, promoting development, human rights, gender equality and sexual and reproductive health.
When I look back to what went through my mind on the day of my TISS convocation, I recall a sense of wonderment and trepidation at what life would bring for me, a heady mix of idealism and activism as well as pragmatic concern about my own future; a sense of having completed my life as a dependent young adult to a sense of not knowing if I have it all to make it independently.
What helped me through my journey was to maintain some of that sense of excitement and adventure about life's unexpected gifts and pains; some of that idealism blended with strategic pragmatism in the path to achieve my ideals; and maintaining a sense of independence in thinking but inter-dependence in action, recognizing that there is an
innate value in collective power and in maintaining a strong support system and partnerships that can help me to achieve those ideals. Had it not been so, I doubt I would have been able to work in so many different countries, in diverse multi-cultural settings, away from my homeland and family, and within a complex, inter-governmental body such as the United Nations.
While journeys give you the time and experiences that help the evolution of your thinking, decision making and analytical capacities, and the uneven paths teach you to persevere, despite the pitfalls, the wisest lesson that TISS has taught me is that learning does not stop at the portals of an academic institution. In fact it only begins.
Being too cautious is the greatest risk of all
Since I left TISS after over a decade as a faculty member when Dr. Armaity Desai was blazing new paths as the director, till Dr. Parsuraman took over its mantle, the Institute has had a sharp growth in size, scope, locations, and reputation. Thanks to the visionary leadership of Dr. Parsuraman and the Board of TISS and the strong involvement of its outstanding faculty, students, and supporters, the Institute is now respected even more than before, the world over, as a premier institution where research, training, and policy and programme development are nurtured and which produces the finest human resources possible for contributing to India's development.
I know that embarking on this journey to growth and development must have also filled the minds of the TISS leadership with trepidation and excitement. The results have been impressive to say the least. And the leadership, I am sure, continues to believe that there is so much more to be done, especially at the start of the 75th year of the institute's existence. The words of the late Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru display the true sign of leadership – “The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.”
True global leadership starts at home
When one looks at the magnificent journey that India has taken over the last 15 years, one is awestruck. India has always fascinated those who studied its culture and development. Daunting to many, India was seen as the land of abject poverty only a few decades ago. India has since grown to be an impressive social and economic power, closely following only China in terms of its overall economic growth. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India must first tackle a host of domestic problems like ignorance, poverty and underdevelopment. Today, it is hard for India to justify living in the world of the G20 while still being counted among the poorest countries in the world.
While maintaining steady growth, the country has increased government investments in social sectors in the last few years in large social welfare programmes such as the National Rural Health Mission, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (now renamed the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme). These programmes, aiming to advance rights to education, health and an adequate standard of living, have their supporters and their critics. But one thing is clear - their focus on improving opportunities and services for the poor and people living in remote areas was overdue and commendable.
I am excited by the growing evidence that some progress is being made in reducing maternal and infant mortality thanks largely to the increase in institutional delivery, with more and more women going to health facilities to give birth and benefiting from skilled medical attendance. What this will mean in terms of sustainable impact and quality of services is yet to be seen. While the early signs are promising, we still have a long way to go.
All is 'not' well
With apologies to a recent hit Bollywood movie, 'all is 'not' well' when it comes to addressing some basic issues. And I am talking of maternal mortality, violence against women, health information, awareness, and service delivery, nutrition, education of girls and livelihood security – all issues that the UN holds as dear to its heart.
As is seen in so many countries around the world, including India, services are still reaching mainly those who live in cities and towns. To enhance equity, rural and primary healthcare needs far more attention. More radical reform is needed to strengthen health and education systems, and financing methods, to ensure universal access. Wherever people have to rely on out-of-pocket payments to cover health-care costs, exorbitant health expenses can lead to poverty. The United Nations supports a comprehensive primary health-care approach to counteract the fragmentation of health systems, achieve health equity, and promote health security. And, of course, a vibrant and vocal civil society, which stands ready to make services responsive to people's needs and hold governments accountable, is indispensible.
One of the responsibilities of the United Nations, as we strive to support countries in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and other international commitments, such as those of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development and the 1995 Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women, is to build a bridge between civil society and the government—a bridge so that communities and governments can work together to get more done to improve people's lives in every sense of the word, and, in the process, deepen the values and ideals of democracy and human rights.
The power of people to accelerate social change
In my work at the United Nations, I have seen time and time again how a small but palpable people's movement can lead to pressure on policymakers and elected officials to respond and can foster changes in policies and laws and shifts in cultural beliefs and practices.
I saw this in the case of a movement encouraging men and boys to fight violence against women in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil, where the culture of machismo is predominant.
I saw it in several African countries where female genital cutting was the norm and where today religious and community leaders, parents, women's groups and governments are increasingly standing up against this practice.
I saw this in the case of HIV in South Africa, where it took people living with HIV to start a movement, first, for anti-retroviral treatment but then, for HIV prevention as well, to stop further infections.
In a country that fought apartheid, the seeds of such a people's movement were already laid. India has an even longer, rich tradition of people's movements and rooted democratic ideals that make social development led by the people not just a distant goal but a reality in many parts of the country.
Addressing inequities is democracy in action
One of the key functions of graduates of TISS should be building social awareness among the marginalized so that they can demand and claim their human rights. Today we are happy to see vegetable sellers and roadside vendors with mobile phones and view this as a sign of progress. But we have to acknowledge that the underprivileged continue to struggle to get a ration card; for ensuring birth, marriage and even death registration; are forced to deal with middlemen for securing basic services which are theirs by right; and lack the basic necessities for a dignified, secure, and healthy life. We have experienced a revolution in wireless connectivity, but we remain tragically disconnected when it comes to equal rights and opportunities. This disconnect threatens the very foundations of democracy. Closing the disconnect between impressive economic growth and widespread human depravation requires more than policy and legal reform; it requires a shared belief, and passion, that this is a journey worth taking.
The principle of equality between men and women, for instance, is inscribed in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is fundamental to the Indian Constitution. Giving women 33 percent of the seats in Panchayats all over India has resulted in the induction of “at least one million” women to public life in rural India at the grassroots level. And now, having a 33 per cent reservation for women in parliament offers an exciting opportunity to ensure that women get the voice they deserve and to participate meaningfully in a democracy that values gender equality and human rights.
Change requires courage, confidence and conviction
Dear students, as you embark on an energizing journey ahead, you will need more than formal education to achieve all that you wish because it is not just about knowledge, skill and ability alone. Of course these count. But being open minded, listening carefully to dissenting voices just when you think you have the answer, learning from your mistakes and successes, and bringing passion to whatever you do will all help enormously. And there is no need to set off on this journey alone – bring others along and join others in their journeys. And don't forget to leave behind the baggage of stereotypes; forget the vision of culture as strangling, but see it instead as evolving. And remember that we, the people, create the culture we seek to live in and have the power to change it when it is harmful. Stand up and be counted if you want everybody to count.
And most importantly, don't just keep thinking about what you want to do. Go ahead and do it.
If everybody kept worrying about doing the right thing without errors, we would not be able to fly across the world, communicate across the seas and nations, treat HIV through anti-retrovirals, eradicate polio and increase life expectancy. If we did not take calculated risks and aim high we would not expect to enjoy a revolution in education and health, economic development, and progress for those countries that were seen as harbouring little potential for growth some years ago. Change requires the courage, confidence and conviction that it will happen if we make the effort.
The results of our labour won't be immediate or visible sometimes even in our lifetimes. Most change does not happen overnight but if you do nothing, your great grandchildren won't be in the world you dream for them. If my great grandfather had not educated my grandmother, we would not have had a family where the education and employment of women and girls were valued.
Finally, I hope you will remember that it is important to do your bit in making the changes that count towards social development. Small or large, all contributions matter. My father encouraged his wife to study after marriage, encouraged his daughter to strive towards broader vistas, and encouraged his granddaughter to strive for the stars. If we do not have enlightened grandfathers, fathers, mothers, and family members, none of us would or will make it to where we are or could be. So BE that brother, sister, parent, spouse, family member that nurtures human development towards self-fulfillment and resultantly, national development.
Find your own song
Let me close on another personal note. When I was your age, there was a trend to look to foreign pastures for better prospects. Those days are long gone with Indian outsourcing contracts being fought over in the industrialized world and growing momentum for India to play a larger role in international affairs. I have always been proud to be an Indian in the United Nations representing a country which continues to confront its challenges, contradictions, diversities, and which encourages introspection and self reflection; a country which, by and large, tolerates external scrutiny and analysis on what it can do better; a country that can frustrate, inspire, overwhelm, all in one go. My uncle, the poet Nissim Ezekiel, said in one of his finer and briefer moments:
Confiscate my passport, Lord
I don't want to go abroad
Let me find my song
Where I belong
I wish my uncle were alive for me to tell him that my passport pages are full of stamps from the countries which I have visited or in which I have lived; that I work and live in a country far away from my own. But belongingness to me does not come from where I physically live. I believe that I have found my song and it remains the song I would have sung if I lived here. Whatever you do, wherever you go, I hope you find your song and sing it loud and clear, fearlessly and joyously. Good luck and Bon Voyage!
