H. E. Mr. Tejendra Khanna, Honourable Lt. Governor of Delhi addresses the Conference.
H. E. Mr. Tejendra Khanna, Honourable Lt. Governor of Delhi, in his opening address said;

I am privileged to have been invited to the inaugural session of this first South Asia Regional Conference organized by FICAC. My sense is that every human being living on the globe is basically seeking a simple life of peace and happiness. That is the fundamental quest which unites human beings across all frontiers, borders, countries and other divisions. Everybody wants peace and happiness. We all strive to meet the basic requirements of life on earth, which are shelter, food, clothing, good relationships with fellow human beings and an environment of peace, in which one can try to connect with the Source from which all human beings and all creation have descended. Now the fundamental reality is that peace and harmony are indivisible. If we are seeking it for ourselves, the only way we can actually achieve it is if we also become an instrument of promoting peace, wellbeing and happiness for our fellow human beings. We cannot say that we will be at peace but will clobber everybody else who stands in our way. That will invite a severe, adverse reaction because it is said that the world is a mirror and everything we do ultimately gets reflected back at us.

In the world today there are many conflicts based on differences of political ideology clashing economic interests or religious differences. But I think that while all this is going on and one cannot by oneself change the world in our own small ways we have to consciously try to promote around us a sense of well being, a sense of sharing, a sense of service, sensitivity to other fellow human beings and also to strive to take steps towards enhancing regional peace, global peace and harmony, sharing of goodwill and sharing of our capacities to promote the well-being of fellow human beings across the world. So I would urge that anybody in the diplomatic field, and, indeed diplomacy means that one is acting as a bridge between the country that one represents and the country where one happens to be posted, should strive to bring the two countries and their peoples together. As Hony. Consuls belong to the host country, they naturally have good local knowledge and are familiar with what is happening in terms of economic growth objectives, social development and civil society empowerment, to enable people to intervene more constructively in guiding the affairs of their society and their nation. In India, since the last few years there is a Central statute called the “Right to Information Act” which allows every Indian citizen to call for any information from any Public Governance/public service organizations other than what is classified as “Secret”. That Act has the aim of empowering our citizens to demand information as to why the state has taken certain actions or has omitted to take certain actions which may have been beneficial for advancing the larger public good. In my view, one of the defining aspects of life which characterizes developed societies or countries is that they have placed the individual as the centre piece of their Polity and Society. Empowerment of the citizen, respecting the citizen, giving him all opportunities under the Constitution and the laws becomes a critical objective. These are, I think, the landmarks which actually show that here is a society which aims at honouring, respecting and giving central importance to the individual citizen. I can say with pride that in its very Preamble, the Indian Constitution cites as one of its basic objectives: “to advance the dignity of the individual”, dignity implying not only giving him all his basic needs and requirements but the opportunity to garner by his honest efforts what is needed to live a meaningful life both in material terms and in terms of cultivation of the higher faculties with which all human beings are endowed.
H. E. Mr. Tejendra Khanna, Honourable Lt. Governor of Delhi addresses the Conference.

So, in my view, a key role which members of the Hony. Consular Corp should be playing and, I am sure you are already playing it, is firstly to learn all about the overseas countries you are representing in terms of their political life, in terms of their social development, their economic growth activities, how they are empowering their citizens, how they are making life in the public domain more efficient and more productive, etc. For instance, a fine example of creation of rapid bus transit corridors in metro cities has come from a small town called Curitiba in Brazil, where community leaders started laying out dedicated bus lanes so that the public bus transportation system could function more efficiently and more people could be transported across the city. The Curitiba model has now gone across the world. Even, Delhi is introducing Bus rapid transit corridors, the idea being that the pattern of sharing available road space between corridors meant for public transportation buses which carry may be more than 50 persons per bus and cars in which may be 2-3 persons are traveling should be such as gives a higher weightage to meeting the needs of the public at large who use public transport.

I have cited this a small example, from a remote area, suddenly emerging as a worldwide model. I have also seen BBC programmes on small innovations which have made a tangible positive difference in people’s lives. The other day, I was watching the BBC World News programme and they were talking about one of the cities in Taiwan, in which every evening, around 6 o’clock, the Municipal garbage van comes to a given location. People in the neighbouring apartment buildings come down to the street with their bags of recyclable and non-recyclable waste and while they are waiting for the van, they talk to each other and socialize. When that municipal van arrives the citizens dump their garbage themselves into the van and after this is done, the Driver rings the bell, and goes off. This is again a small example but suggests a participative model from which something positive can be learned. In other words, such practices which you feel can offer a learning paradigm for others, and can be shared beneficially, is something useful and important which Hony. Consuls should be able to convey to the functionaries of host countries, where they happen to live.
Hon. Vivek Burman presents the FICAC Award of Appreciation to H. E. Mr. Tejendra Khanna. Also in picture is Hon. K. L. Ganju, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Conference.

So, at the end, I would like to say is that one often feels he cannot change the world alone, but as I said in the beginning, in my view, every single person can either make a positive contribution, towards greater peace, greater unity, greater sense of mutual understanding, mutual respect, a better relationship or he can do the converse. I can assure you that if any two persons want to develop a good relationship, it can only be based on positives which they recognize in each other. No human being is perfect and everyone has a mix of positives and negatives. If you start focussing on another person’s negatives, you will never develop a good relationship. You will have 101 reasons to think he is not worth your friendship. However, if you pick up the person’s good qualities and have the eye to perceive that the person has a good sense of humor, he is very considerate, he is sensitive, he tries and helps others whenever possible, you will draw that person into a good mutual relationship. So, if we wish to criticize other peoples or countries or societies, we may be able to find 101 reasons to do so. But if we want to build a good relationship, we have to do so with a searching eye, and find many good reasons why we would like to a build up good relationship. The choice is ours and ultimately, as it is said, “As you sow, so shall you reap”. If we sow grapes we will reap a harvest of grapes; if we sow something bitter, we will eventually reap that bitter harvest. So my short point is and the time given to you in your representative capacities, please make an honest effort to build bridges of friendship, respect and mutual sharing which will enhance the quality of life on both sides and help the world to become a better place. Though the world as a whole will not change, in the areas where you have had some influence, a positive change did occur. Recently when a foreigner asked the Dalai Lama, which in his view was the best religion, and thought the answer would be “Tibetan Buddhism,” the Dalai Lama’s answer was the best religion is the one which promotes a sense of greater compassion for fellow human beings and fellow creatures. Any religion which does that and takes you in the direction of greater compassion, greater sharing and sensitivity is, I think, the one that reflects the essential spirit of that religion. So, we need to dive deeper into ourselves to bring out our positivity and see how it is reflected back from our fellow human beings with whom we interact. We can thus make our small positive contribution in this massive multi-trillion piece world jigsaw puzzle, by placing therein a few pieces of peace, harmony and mutual respect.