Fomer President of South Africa Nelson Mandela said 'we often live in a global village. That you in delhi can hear me speak from johannesburg proves how true that is in a literal sense. The 20th century has seen unbelievable technological and scientific progress and the world, in many respect, a much better place than it was a 100 years ago and there is much to be grateful for. The last century has also proved in your country and mine and elsewhere across the globe that the resistence to injustice and the fight for freedom is an instinctive human response as much as it is a political act'.
The 20th century witnessed the end of colonisation and the birth of numerous young nations. The attainment of national political freedom was, however, not the end of the struggle. In every corner of world today mankind continues to struggle, often against oppressors of another kind that are proving equally formidable and persistent. Poverty, hunger, disease and death cannot be fought with weapons. They can only be truly challenged by the human will. It's a concern that our world is becoming a global village only for the exchange of goods and information-not as a place of shelter, livelihood, security, and dignity for all who live in it.
The divide between the world's rich and the poor is not merely the result of economic consequences or market forces. It is also the result of closed hearts and narrow minds. Prosperity without an equitable distribution of resources is neither just nor sustainable in the long run. We live in an age of scientific and technological advancements but we cannot ensure the delivery of basic health care to most of our population.
It is our duty, duty of leaders and corporations, to think and act as citizens of one home we have, the global village we live in. If the 2oth century was the century of national freedom, the century we live in today must be a century of creating a better life for all.