Mr. M.K. Narayanan
Vice President,
Centre for Security Analysis

Mr. M.K. Narayanan

Mr. Chris Patten, Commissioner for External Relations and Chancellor of Oxford University, Honourable Prof. S.P. Thyagarajan, Vice Chancellor, University of Madras, Prof. S. Karunanidhi, Registrar of Madras University, Prof. Gopalji Malviya, Head of the Department of Defence studies, University of Madras, members of this very distinguished audience, ladies and gentlemen,

It is indeed a very proud privilege to welcome such a distinguished personality as Mr. Chris Patten, who is presently one of the leading stars of the European Commission, and some one whose career I have followed very closely over the years. For me it is a red-letter day, for it is not every day that there is a synthesis of two important events. One, to speak from the premises of this venerable University, and two, to welcome a celebrity like Mr. Chris Patten, a person whose bio-data overwhelms each and every one of us. How does one welcome or how does one introduce a person who was Political Advisor to the Home and Political Office of the United Kingdom, Chairman of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom, Governor of Hong Kong in its most tumultuous phase, Chairman of the Independent Commission of Policing for Northern Ireland and so on? As a member of the European Commission in charge of External Relations, and as the Chancellor of Oxford University, Mr. Patten is today one of the most prominent personalities, intellects and intellectuals one can hope to meet.

I have a special interest in what Mr. Chris Patten did as Governor of Hong Kong and as Chairman of the Independent Commission of Policing for Northern Ireland. I was fascinated by the way Mr. Chris Patten handled the transition of Hong Kong and its integration with mainland China. I think Mr. Raghavan, who is here as a member of the audience, would remember that we as young officers working in the Government of India had the fortune - or the misfortune - to be indirectly a part of the policy making mechanism (though not very successful) dealing with China. Therefore, for such of those who have carefully followed Mr. Patten's tactics of dealing with China - pre-empting their meticulous planning and their kind of convoluted logic which denotes much of Chinese thinking - that he should have conducted the whole issue of negotiations almost single-handedly and to have managed this with such consummate skill and finally integrated Hong Kong with China, is indeed a revelation. It has metamorphosed the region and today, China is imitating Hong Kong rather than the other way about. If there is any bigger transformation in the history of the modern world, I have yet to come across it. I believe every one of you here would agree with what I say.

Mr. Chris Patten embodies the European idea. European Commission represents what is, in fact, the truest symbol of the disinterested guardian of European interests. The Commission that Mr. Patten represents has remained above the daily din of battle over national interests. It embodies the common interest, rather than self-interest. For many of us in India, this multinational European Commission signifies the spirit of good relations and we are indeed privileged that Mr. Patten who represents the highest symbol of this kind is present here. For those of us who are part and parcel of the rocky seas of parliamentary democracy in this country, we are equally enamoured by what the European Commission has succeeded in doing, viz., to steer between the Scylla and Charybdis of everyday affairs.

One aspect which has not been talked about too much, definitely as far as Asia is concerned, is how Mr. Patten has transformed the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Ireland, and made it into the Police Service of Ireland. There are in this audience quite a few of us who are ex-policemen. And the change (in Royal Ulster Constabulary of Ireland) that has been brought about is truly dramatic and remarkable. I think those of us who have been members of Police Commissions would realise how it is to transform policemen, of which I am one. I think this would represent one of the high points of Mr. Patten's career.

I hope that the new European Constitution which is about to be initiated would finally produce a truly federalist vision and would maintain the fine balance that has been achieved over the years. We in India would be particularly interested in knowing how they are going to reconcile the basic issue of insertion of God and Christianity into the European constitution. As a truly secular nation that India is, we look forward to the outcome with the greatest interest.

Thank you very much.

Dr. S.P. Thyagarajan, Vice Chancellor, University of Madras & M.K. Narayanan, Vice President, CSA with Mr. Chris Patten, Commissioner for External Relations, European Union

Compiled by R. Venkataramanujam