Article provided by Avani Mittal of her visit to Ms. Hillary Clinton's speech at Chennai on 20th July 2011-As we, the students of Great Lakes Institute of Management, started on our journey to Anna Centenary Library on 20th July 2011, we could not ask for more. The 30 of us were super thrilled about the prospect of being addressed by none other than U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, the epitome of beauty and brains!
The Anna Centenary Library building was beaming with energy. Thrilled by the maiden visit of Hillary Clinton to Chennai, the reporters and press from media, local audience and chief officers assembled in large numbers to a be a part of the event. As we waited for Hillary to arrive, the influx of celebrities from film and music industry such as Kamal Hassan, along with opinion-makers such as Gauthami kept the gathering mostly comprising of students engaged. Among others, Cognizant’s R Chandrashekhar, Apollo Hospital’s Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, Founder and Dean of Great Lakes Institute of Management, Bala Balachandran, were also present.
The welcome address by Mr.P.A.Naresh, Joint Director of Public Libraries, Tamil Nadu preceded the speech by Ms Hillary Clinton. Ms Clinton started with "Vanakkam", her vernacular greeting provoking a roar of approval from her audience. She expressed her happiness about coming to Tamil Nadu and Chennai and praised the Tamil culture and history. The US Secretary of State paid tribute to India, its democracy and its pluralism.
She reiterated US’ support for India becoming a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council in a reformed UN system. Touching upon the Sri Lankan Tamils’ issue, she asserted every citizen of the island nation deserved equal help and opportunity. Additionally, she emphasized that India and US should work together to combat piracy, mitigate climate issues, achieve nuclear non-proliferation and enhance sustainable development. Towards the end, she desired a free, global world where peoples’ aspirations are not buried due to boundary restrictions.
The audience were mesmerised by her demeanor and presentation. However, a void was felt, due the absence of an interactive session. Pranita Dhamdhere of Great Lakes responded, “Her reference to silk route- the ancient trading passage between India and China was something that stood for me. She stressed on its relevance for tomorrow’s India, a silk route stretching from India in all directions. I also appreciate her focus on importance of women empowerment in India, if it wants to grow in the real sense.”
Vikram Choudhary pursuing PGPM at Great Lakes shared, “It was an exhilarating experience to be an audience to such an eminent and learned personality. India becoming a superpower was something I had always read about, but receiving it from such world leaders shows that our invincibility is inevitable.”
In short, the trip was a memorable one. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us which we shall cherish forever.