Indira Gandhi reshaped country with policies dedicated to ameliorating poverty, inequality: Sonia

New Delhi, Nov 19 (PTI) As India's first and only woman prime minister, Indira Gandhi reshaped the country with her policies dedicated to ameliorating poverty, deprivation, conflict, and inequality, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi said on Wednesday.

She made the remarks after presenting the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2024 to Michelle Bachelet, who had served as the first and only woman President of Chile and is a former Chief of UN Human Rights.

Speaking on the occasion, she said the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development was instituted in 1985 in the memory of "one of the most extraordinary woman leaders of our time".

"The award commemorates Indira Gandhi's monumental contributions by celebrating women, men, and institutions that have worked towards social development, peace, sustainability, and numerous other causes. It reminds us that even in times of strife, there are those who fight for progress, justice, and the well-being of humankind," the former Congress chief said.

"As India's first and only woman prime minister, Indira Gandhi reshaped our country with her policies dedicated to ameliorating poverty, deprivation, conflict, and inequality. She once said, 'Peace we want because there is another war to fight against poverty, disease, and ignorance,'" Gandhi pointed out.

Indira Gandhi's work reflected these beliefs that everyone has the right to live without oppression, prejudice, poverty, and violence, she said.

The breadth and depth of her accomplishments continue to be recalled and admired in India and across the world, Gandhi said.

As a leader with a compassionate heart, a deep love for her people, a fierce commitment to human rights, and an unflinching faith in nonviolence, her legacy continues to inspire countless people, the Chairperson of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust said.

In her remarks, Bachelet said she would like to express her deepest gratitude for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development.

"It is a true privilege to be once again in India, a country of extraordinary cultural richness, profound history, and vibrant diversity. Today, I wish to pay tribute to the remarkable life and legacy of Indira Gandhi, a visionary woman and a tremendous source of inspiration for so many people around the world," she said.

"Her legacy, one that sought to enlarge freedom of humankind while pursuing peace, justice, and progress, remains more alive than ever. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, committed to carrying forward the work she began and to supporting the causes she held dear, continues to honour her vision," Bachelet said.

"She believed that nations could prosper only if they lived in harmony with one another. This belief feels even more urgent in today's fragmented world. One of the very causes that deeply moved Indira Gandhi is also what inspired me to enter politics: to improve the welfare of the people. Early in my life, I realised that people's wellbeing is intrinsically linked to the respect for human rights," the Chilean leader said.

Peace and progress are inseparable from human dignity, and without human rights, the full development of our potential as human beings becomes impossible, Bachelet said.

"Let us honour Indira Gandhi's enduring vision by working together every day across nations, generations, and differences. That is the only way we can build a world with peace, equality, and dignity, and not just aspirations, but realities for all," she said.

Gandhi hailed Bachelet and called her an "inspiring leader".

"Former President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, has seen, at first hand, loss, oppression, torture, and exile in her early years. It is a remarkable coincidence that both these women were born and raised in times of strife. Their country, their people, their family, and they themselves were victims of subjugation. Madame Bachelet found her way back to Chile, facing setbacks while also witnessing her country's transformation into a democracy," Gandhi said.

"As a trained medical professional, she worked with the Ministry of Health, later serving as the health minister in 2000. She continued to break barriers, becoming Chile's and Latin America's first female defence minister, and made history when she was elected president of her country on two separate occasions. Her work has been rooted in efforts to ensure the rights of all, but particularly of women," she said.

As president, she reformed her country's healthcare system by improving access to primary care facilities, targeting her government's policies towards vulnerable sections and promoting their rights to good health and well-being, Gandhi said.

Legislations introduced by her government have done much to promote equality, rights and freedom to all, the Congress leader said.

"So, it is indeed an honour for the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust to confer the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament & Development 2024 on President Michelle Bachelet, who epitomises the very essence of Indira Gandhi's life and work," Gandhi said. PTI ASK RHL