October 4: An important day in UNGC Session’s History

Do you know October 4 has witnessed an important event of UNGC by Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji in history? 

Over Half a Billion people worldwide speak Hindi today. There were many reformers who considered Hindi as the most glorious language in the world. October 4 holds two important facts about the Hindi Language. Let us take a look at the article to know more about this.

A thoroughgoing look at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Speeches

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first external affairs minister to deliver a speech in Hindi at the UN General Assembly. The speech effectively raised India’s stand on key issues like nuclear disarmament, state-sponsored terrorism, and reforms all over the world. Known for his great oratory skills, he first addressed the UNGA’s 32nd session on 4th October 1977, as the foreign minister under the Janata Party government. It was the first time that an Indian leader had delivered the Hindi speech at the United Nations General Assembly as the English language was the only dominant language at the forum.

Vajpayee Ji took the subject of the Non-Aligned Movement and said that India stands firmly for peace, non-alignment, and friendship with all countries. In his speech, he has put the vision of Vasudev Kutumbakam that India by pointing out the consolidation of normalization of relations with Pakistan. This was not only to ensure durable peace but to promote beneficial bilateral cooperation all over the world. The issue of nuclear disarmament was again raised in 1978 in UNGC where he said –

“There is no let-up in the arms race either quantitatively or qualitatively. Disarmament is still a distant goal; and the probability of nuclear war looms over us like a menacing shadow. India believes that partial measures such as the creation of zones free of nuclear weapons comprising the nuclear ‘have-nots’ are not likely to generate any genuine feeling of security unless there is, at the same time, significant progress towards nuclear disarmament,”

(A part of 1978 Speech of UNGC)

1. In 1998, as prime minister of India he met the Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif in UNGC His main agenda of that speech was to tell the world about how Indian democracy can take a root in a developing country. He said that the Indian experience will prove that democracy can also provide the basis for stable, long-term economic growth in developing societies.

2.  In 2000, he addressed the Millennium Summit of the UN. He spoke about terrorism, the danger of nuclear war, and India’s nuclear programs. He gave the fact that the danger of nuclear war remains a serious threat to global peace and security in the new era. According to him, India was forced to develop these weapons in 1998 because the principal nuclear-weapon States refused to accept the almost-universal demand for disarmament.

3. In UNGA’s 56th session 2001 he talked about the policy of sponsoring terrorism by some states as the session was held after the 9/11 attacks.

“We in India know from our own bitter experience that terrorists develop global networks driven by religious extremism. Their operations are supported by drug trafficking, money laundering, and arms smuggling. Some states follow a policy of sponsoring and sheltering them. Terrorists can only be countered through closely coordinated efforts of the international community”.

( An important line of 56th Session about terrorism)

Read more: History of October 3rd: Everything you need to know!

(An Image of Atal Bihari Vajpayee with Moraji Desai)

4. Vajpayee’s last address at the UNGA came in the 58th session, saying where he associated the United Nations that it has always been successful in preventing conflicts or in resolving them and cited the example of Iraq. He said that there is a need to clearly recognize, with a sense of realism, the limits to what the United Nations can achieve, and the changes of form and function required for it to play an optimal role in today’s world.

Finally, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a 10-time Lok Sabha member, announced his retirement from politics in 2005.

Other Events of this Day

1. Birth Anniversary of Ramchandra Shukla

October 4 is known as the birth anniversary of Ram Chandra Shukla. He was born in 1884 and Indian history associates him as Acharya Shukla. He is regarded as the first codifier of the history of Hindi literature in a scientific system by using wide research with scant resources and published Hindi Sahitya Ka Itihaas.

2. October 4 is celebrated as World Animal Day all over the world. It was started in 1931 with the aim of animal rights and welfare.

3.  Establishment of WikiLeaks (2006)

WikiLeaks is an international non-profit organization that publishes news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. The website was started from 4th October 2006, by Julian Assange in Iceland by the organization of Sunshine Press.

4. On 4th October 1957, the first man-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1 was launched by the Soviet Union.

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