Distinguished guests, Friends and Ladies and Gentlemen:
I bring greetings from United States
I want to express my deep appreciation for your warm welcome. Thank you for your hospitality. My special thanks to Shah Tarique for organizing this event. Please give him a round of applause. I want to sincerely thank all of you for coming.
It is my distinct pleasure to be here today here in Azamgarh, a place of my birth. I am humbled and deeply honored. It is my good fortune to be sharing this stage with so many distinguishes guests.
A sense of humility brings us together. I am divided by distance but united and bonded by shared history and shared heritage and shared background.
I am proud to be standing here and looking at you today I never felt so blessed.
This city is true treasure. I still cherish and nourish and nurture fond memories of Azamgarh. This place has been my home. No matter where I am the thought of this city lingers on me. This city remains an inseparable and an indispensable part of my life and my story and my journey. This city stands as a beacon of light around the globe. Its leaders have shaped our history and our destiny. This city has provided hopes, dreams, and future for many generations. This city stands as a shining symbol of equality, dignity, decency, concern, compassion and tolerance and respect for other faiths. Growing up here had an enormous impact on the person I am. It is here that I learned lesson from my family and from this city. This city shaped my character and influence the person who I am today.
All of us will do well to remember no country, no religion, no caste, no creeds, and no civilization has monopoly on wisdom and values of freedom, justice, and human dignity. People should be treated according to their talents not background and belief. Please join me in this journey so that we can together break the barrier and boundary of biases and bigotry. There are a lot that unite all of us and there are a little that divide us. Our bonds are stronger than the differences that drive us apart.
All of us will do well to remember anything and everything is possible when we work together, when we learn from one another, when we listen to each other and when we set aside our differences to work for shared goals with shared responsibilities and shared sacrifice.
Let us commit to working together to find equal opportunities in jobs and advancement of all citizens of this city regardless of their background and beliefs. Discrimination can shatter people’s ambitions and dreams.
Let us commit to working together to eliminate poverty. It is poverty that crushes hope and fuels frustration and desperation.
Let us commit to working together to eliminate disparities in education.
Let us commit to working together to build a common ground.
Thank you for giving me an opportunity to share my thoughts. I wish all of you continued success.
God bless you