NEW DELHI: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday lauded the contributions of late Indira Gandhi saying the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1976 introduced the concept of the Fundamental Duties, among which was to develop scientific temper, humanism and spirit of inquiry and reform.
The amendment was piloted by Indira Gandhi when the Emergency was in force.
Singh was speaking at a virtual event on the occasion of signing of an MOU to set up Indira Gandhi Chair for Environmental Sciences at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust which Congress president Sonia Gandhi heads has backed the chair.
Singh used the occasion to remember Indira Gandhi saying her years as Prime Minister were peppered with path-breaking initiatives in the realm of science and technology.
“While ISRO was already in fledgling existence and the cooperative milk movement had started earlier, it was she who pushed the space programme and the white revolution to new heights. Who can forget the moment when Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian astronaut, told her that from outer space, India appeared to him as “sare jahan se achha!” said Singh, hailing Indira as one of the builders of modern India and a leader whose tenure over 16 years in two separate phases saw transformation within India and the neighbourhood. “Her political achievements, her firmness in the face of military challenges, and her numerous policy initiatives are well recognised,” said Singh, adding that the occasion today was meant to acknowledge the relatively lesser known aspects of Indira’s life.
Singh said it was appropriate that the Chair be located in one of the country’s leading centres for the study of science and technology adding, “It was Jawaharlal Nehru who first spoke about the need to inculcate a scientific temper among our people. Indira took this forward by leaps and bounds.”
Sonia Gandhi on the occasion said Indira set up the environment ministry in 1980 and remained minister in charge for four years until her death.