It is my proud privilege to welcome you all this afternoon on behalf of 32,000 students of CMS, its Founder-Manager Mr Jagdish Gandhi, Mrs Bharti Gandhi and the devoted staff to lend thought to the world's most burning problem - the problem of world peace.

You are welcome to Lucknow. You must have seen some of the hospitality here. A city of antiquity, called 'Lakshmanpuri' since the times of Lord Shri Ram, the estate of his unmatchable brother Shri Lakshman. You are in the plains of the divine river, Ganga, flowing from the great Himalayas to the high seas, which bear testimony to the ancient history of Bharat (India) -- the land of great rishis, saints and sages who rendered the philosophy of life. The Rig Veda dating 1800-1500 BC has been added in June 2007 to the United Nations heritage, list in ‘Memory of the World Register’ set up by the UNESCO. In our land there have been those great saints who preached the lesson of non-violence and love to the world: The Jain Lord Mahavira of the 6th century BC, his contemporary Lord Gautam Buddha whose philosophy was adopted by Ashoka, the great emperor, spread around the whole of Asia, including China and Japan up to this day. Mahatma Gandhi has been the 20th century apostle of world peace through non-violence and love. We call him 'Bapu', Father of the Nation.

Gentlemen, sadly, the brute in man has refused to learn the lesson of peace and love, because the ephemeral pleasure and possessions of the flesh got the better of the spirit, enjoying the bliss of renunciation for the good of others. History is witness to invasions of India by forces of violence, greedy to capture other's territory and wealth by galvanising themselves in the name of religion- Pity it is, it is true, it is true its pity’. The 20th century has been no better. The legacy continues in the 21st century. Nuclear proliferation today is a well recognised monster, only biding time which may come sooner than later, unless we do something to eradicate it.

The City Montessori School has been organizing these conferences for years. This is the 8th Conference in the cause of world peace. A hope has been kept lighted that the nations of the world, especially the powerful and the so called advanced ones, will come together to forge an alliance. Fortunately, we have the forum of United Nations for the international law of world peace and non- violence which will destroy the seeds of violence found anywhere. We have a couplet in Urdu:

(Even if the caravans are looted and robbed on the highway by the highway robbers, the path of love has never been terminated. It has not been possible to close down the path of love). That is what the couplet says. We need an environment of change, we are facing an environment of change, and there is a call for change. Governments have to make use of force to a certain extent. Nevertheless for the peace of the world, it is absolutely necessary to inculcate and develop the spirit of non-violence and love. This year has a special feature. The General Assembly of United Nations adopted a unanimous resolution (endorsed by all the 192 member nations), on the subject of non-violence around the world. The earlier resolution of 4th December 2006, on the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World was recalled at this conference. Well, I should buck up the children of City Montessori School. They are in the decade of culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the world. The resolution reaffirmed the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence and desiring to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence. (The resolution) decided to observe the International Day of Non-Violence on 2nd of October each year. The UN General Assembly unanimously with 192 members decided to celebrate the International Day of Non-Violence on the 2nd of October each year for its celebration and observance. It invited all the member states to commemorate the International Day of Non-Violence in an appropriate manner and to disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness.

The Secretary General of United Nations was asked to inform the General Assembly of the implementation of the resolution. This is exactly what the present conference aspires to achieve. The Secretary General's message on the observance of 2nd of October 2007 as the International Day of Non-Violence, inter-alia, is that the Mahatma's inspiration is needed more now than ever - that all around we see communities, increasingly mired in rising intolerance and cross-cultural tensions, extremist dogma and violent ideologies gaining ground as moderate forces retreat. This fate of the moderate forces is going to be the bane of the society. I call upon all the moderates of the world and moderate forces to come forward. This is what is happening. The terrorist groups can succeed; because the moderates keep quiet and that there is great need to address these trends and to promote true tolerance and non-violence at every level from the individual, all the way up to the state. This is what the Secretary General of United Nations reported to the General Assembly about the observance of 2nd October 2007 as International Non-Violence day throughout the world.

With this background of the current year's thinking at the international level, we look forward to this conference to evolve an international law of peace and non-violence, which must be honoured by all the nations -- and to begin with, each participant to persuade his government to frame and adopt internal laws with that ethos. We plead with all the hon'ble judges deliberating in this conference to evolve a jurisprudence which will boost the concept of settlement of international problems in the spirit of love and non-violence. May God be with us.