JAWAHARLAL NEHRU AWARD JAWAHARLAL NEHRU AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING PRESENTATION TO NELSON MANDELA 14th NOVEMBER 1980 NEW DELHI Distributed by African National Congress (South Africa) Department of Information & Publicity Presidential Address JAWAHARLAL NEHRU AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING Presentation to NELSON MANDELA 14 November 1980 New Delhi FORWORD In 1979, India granted the outstanding and world-renowned Jawarial Nehru Award to Comrade Nelson Mandela in recognition of his selfless service to the cause of the liberation of Africa and oppressed peoples throughout the world. In this booklet we publish the proceedings of the historic ceremony during which the President of the Republic of India, His Excellency Sanjiva Reddy, presented the Nehru Award to Comrade Oliver Tambo, President of the African National Congress, who accepted it on behalf of his imprisoned comrade-in-arms, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. The ceremony itself was a solemn, dignified yet happy occasion reflecting the common understanding of the two peoples of South Africa and India of the nobility of the struggle against the apartheid crime against humanity and our mutual conviction that the victory of the people is certain. To demonstrate the high esteem in which they hold the ANC, its President, Comrade Tambo, the recepient of the Nehru Award, Comrade Mandela as well as the struggling people of South Africa, the Prime Minister of India, Mme Indira Gandhi, her cabinet ministers and the diplomatic corps accredited to New Dehli also participated in the ceremony. We hope all who read these proceedings will draw further inspiration from them to intensify the struggle until victory is won and our leaders such as Nelson Mandela are freed to play their rightful role in a government representative of all the people of South Africa. This is a goal for which all patriotic South Africa must, like Nelson Mandela, be prepared to die. FOREIGN MINISTER'S SPEECH AT THE PRESENTATION CEREMONY OF THE JAWAHARLALA NEHRU AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING FOR THE YEAR 1979 AT VIGYAN BHAVAN ON 14 NOVEMBER 1980. Mr President, Madam Prime Minister, Your Excellency Mr Oliver Tambo, Members of the Jury of the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is my pleasure and privilege, as President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, to begin the proceedings by welcoming you here on this memorable occasion - the presentation of the Jawaharlala Nehru Award for International Understanding for the year 1979 to Mr Nelson R. Mandela. We would do well at this moment to recall that the Government of India, in 1965, instituted this Award to honour the memory of our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, as a tribute to his untiring and devoted endeavours, spanning over half a century, in the cause of world peace and understanding amongst men everywhere. The Award is given annually to distinguished and eminent persons whose contribution to the promotion of international goodwill, cooperation and understanding is significant and notable. Up to now, the Award has been conferred upon 14 distinguished individuals from 12 countries. Speaking in the UN General Assembly in New York in October 1960, Jawaharlal Nehru had said that: "Cooperation does not and must not mean any domination of one country by another, any coercion or compulsion forcing a country to line up with another country. Each country has something to give and something to take from others. The moment coercion is exerted on a country, not only is its freedom impaired but its growth suffers. "We have to acknowledge that there is great diversity in the world and this variety is good and is to be encouraged so that each country may grow and its creative impulse might have full play in accordance with its genius. Hundreds and thousands of years of history have conditioned us in our respective countries and our roots go deep down into the soil. If these roots are pulled out, we wither. If these roots remain strong and we allow the winds from four quarters to blow in upon us, they will yield branches and flowers and fruits". These words distil the essence of Nehru's thought and philosophy - of cooperation amongst nations and indeed amongst peoples - the ideals of freedom, dignity of individual and the liberties of human vocation, faith and expression. We regard Nelson Mandela as a front ranking leader of the oppressed people of South Africa. We have admired his unfailing courage in waging a relentless struggle against social injustice and racial discrimination. The ideals of liberty, equality and justice cherished by the man in whose memory this Award has been instituted and, even earlier, by his sage and mentor, Mohandas Karamohand Gandhi, have inspired Nelson Mandela. With Jawaharlal Nehru he shares a love of freedom and a vision of a society free of prejudices and intolerance. Like Jawaharlal Nehru, Nelson Mandela is a man of peace who is fighting against oppression. For him (and I quote from his own words): "to overthrow oppression is the highest aspiration of every free man". In dedicating himself to constructing a society in which all men may live in harmony, he has recognised the supremacy of the moral law that underlies national and international relations and without which there can be no enduring peace. In declaring his total commitment to this cause, in the following words: "It is an ideal which I hope to live and to achieve. But, if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die..." Nelson Mandela reaches out and imparts to humanity at large a sense of faith and a spirit of dedication in their every day lives. Nelson Mandela is languishing in the notorious Robben Island prison, but prison walls cannot restrain a spirit like his. Wherever human freedom and dignity are valued, Mandela will be present. We share his conviction that the thirst for freedom cannot be quenched and the profound urge for a just peace that inspires the overwhelmingmajority of his countrymen, cannot be overcome by the domination of an unjust and racist system that seeks to condemn them to everlasting servitude. He has been in the vanguard of the struggle of his people and by imprisoning him, none can succeed in destroying either the will of Mandela or of the people he leads. History has proved time and again that such brutish constraint can only heighten the struggle against bondage. Ultimately the world will unite against the oppressors to overcome and succeed. We have gathered here to honour this great son of Africa, whose message of freedom is not confined to a particular country but is for all the world. The oppressive regime in South Africa that propagates apartheid, has made it impossible for us to welcome Nelson Mandela in person here today. We have been denied even the pleasure of receiving his devoted wife, Mrs Winnie Mandela, on his behalf. Our regret and disappointment are, however, to a great extent mitigated by the presence here of His Excellency Mr Oliver Tambo, the Acting President of the African National Congress. A worthy compatriot of Nelson Mandela, he embodies the indomitable will of the suffering people of South Africa to continue their struggle for justice and equality, even though many of their leaders and brethren are languishing behind bars. We are happy to welcome him in our midst to receive the Award on Nelson Mandela's behalf. We are confident that he will carry back to his brothers and sisters -in- arms the message of support and solidarity, of the people of India and indeed - of all peoples of the world who cherish the love of freedom and equality. May I also take this opportunity, not only to welcome once again but also to express, on behalf of the Council and on my own behalf, our sincere thanks to our President, Shri Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, for consenting to preside over this function; to the Vice-President and his colleagues in the jury to whom our compliments are due on their excellent choice and to our revered Prime Minister, Shrimati Indira Gandhi, for gracing this occasion. Her presence at this ceremony on this day - the 91st birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru - is befitting in that it inspires us to revivify his memory and to rededicate ourselves to the cause of world peace and international understanding. I also wish to thank this very distinguished audience for participating in this function. May I now request the Prime Minister to address the gathering. PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA, MRS INDIRA GANDHI'S ADDRESS AT JAWAHARIAL NEHRU AWARD FUNCTION I am not really supposed to address this gathering and you will have noticed that my name is not on the programme but sometimes I feel that the occasion demands that I say at least a few words and this is one of these occasions because I do want to pay my own tribute to Nelson Mandela and to all the valiant groups of people who have been struggling through the years for what is man's acknowledged and undeniable right, to live in freedom and to shape his future. Wherever people care for freedom and human dignity, Nelson Mandela's name is known and respected. But he himself is today being denied both freedom and dignity in his own home. He is confined to Robben Island, locked in a cell, facing the loneliness and frustration, missing his loved ones and above all impatient at not being able to get on with the fight outside. Yet wherever he is, there too is the struggle. Thoreau said that in an oppressive regime, a free man's place is in prison. Many of us here, as Indians who are here, have had personal experience of this.