Remarks at the Opening of the World Agriculture Fair in New Delhi.

Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. President of the Farmers Forum, Distinguished Guests, My Good Friends of India, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I was struck by the Prime Minister's confession of his ignorance of protocol. This means that I have found one other item of contact between my good friend, your distinguished Prime Minister, because let me confess, I don't even know what the word means.

I am signally honored by the invitation to join President Prasad at the opening of the World Agriculture Fair--the first such fair as this ever held. And it is entirely right that it be held here in India. For this nation recognizes in agriculture the fundamental occupation of man and the chief assurance of better living for its citizens.

My own country was quick to accept when invited to participate in this historic event. And today I am particularly honored that India's Chief of State will be with me when, in a few minutes, I officially open the United States exhibit at the Fair. Indeed, the occasion of this Fair gave me the very finest reason I could think of to make this the time of the visit to India that I had long determined upon.

At this American exhibit, all visitors can see how we Americans have managed the soil of our land so that our people might live well for themselves; and have enough food left over to help others. Our way is not necessarily the best, even for us, but here we depict in the American exhibit, American agriculture as it is. We do have a natural pride in what we have accomplished by a creative union of human spirit, fertile earth, and inventive science. But, beyond this, we see in modern agriculture a most effective instrument for a better life among all men. Mela USA points up its use for that high purpose.

On the personal side, I visit this Fair with keen interest. As a boy and young man, I grew up in the heart of the American farmland. A long-held ambition during my professional years--not always too well concealed--has been to return to the farm. And I plan to be a farmer-when my present form of occupation comes to a close. So, I have a keen interest in spending a bit of time at this Fair where so many nations present their achievements in methods and techniques and ways of agriculture. I shall see here much that is new to me. Many of these things are probably improvements on what I have seen or done in the past, and I hope I am still not too old to learn.

For a moment, I hope you will indulge me as I suggest some thoughts on how food can help all of us achieve better lives in a world of justice and peace.

Today, we have the scientific capacity to abolish from the world at least this one evil, we can eliminate the hunger that emaciates the bodies of children; that scars the souls of their parents; that stirs the passions of those who toil endlessly and earn only scraps.

Men, right now, possess the knowledge and the resources for a successful worldwide war against hunger--the sort of war that dignifies and exalts human beings. The different exhibits in this whole Fair are clear proof of that statement.

The call to that genuinely noble war is enunciated in the theme of the American exhibit:

"Food--Family--Friendship--Freedom."

Into these four words are compressed the daily needs, the high purposes, the deep feelings, the ageless aspirations that unite Indians and Americans under one banner--the banner of human dignity.

Here are four words that are mightier than arms and bombs; mightier than machines and money; mightier than any empire that ruled the past or threatens the future.

Here are four words that can lift the souls of men to a high plane of mutual effort, sustained effort, the most rewarding effort that can be proposed to mankind.

First, Food-food that our bodies may be fit for every task and duty and service; our minds free from the fear of hunger; our eyes undimmed by the tragedies of famine, searching out new horizons; our aspirations not frustrated by failure of crop or catastrophe of weather.

Family--family that in our homes there may be decent living and bright hope; children no longer doomed to misery in peace and sudden death in war; their elders no longer broken by want and sorrow beyond their control to mend or cure.

Friendship--that among all the peoples of earth the darkness of ignorance and fear and distrust will dissolve in the light of knowledge and understanding. The time has come when we must all live together for our mutual betterment or we shall all suffer harsh, possibly the final, penalty.

Freedom--that on all continents and islands of the earth every man and woman of good will and good life may make the proudest of human boasts: "I am free; slave to no tyranny imposed by other men, by the accident of birth, by the whims of circumstance."

The American exhibit at this Fair presents the role we feel agriculture can play in furtherance of a healthy, fruitful, peaceful world where the families of all nations can live in freedom from fear of famine and war.

In no wise whatsoever is the American exhibit an attempt to portray our agriculture as superior to any other. Through centuries of living with the soil and streams, the environment and climate of their own lands, people have learned adjustments and adaptations peculiarly suited to their own circumstances.

What we do present here are ways in which American farmers multiplied their productivity; the fertility of their fields; the vigor and the value of their livestock.

In this exhibit visitors will see the techniques, the changes in old methods, the applications of new discoveries that have best served America's particular requirements. Modified to fit your needs and your circumstances, it is our hope that they might be of value to you.

Of course, they cannot work miracles overnight, in any land. But with each harvest, they may help to bring every people using them closer to a dependable self-sufficiency.

Early this year, I set in motion a new program "to explore anew with other surplus-producing nations all practical means of utilizing the various agricultural surpluses of each in the interest of reinforcing peace and the well-being of free peoples throughout the world--in short, using food for peace."

In keeping with this program my Government and the Government of India have been working together. Whatever strengthens India, my people are convinced, strengthens us, a sister-Republic dedicated to peace. This great nation of 400 million people, rich in culture and history, courageous in the resolve to be free and strong, is a mighty influence for an enduring and just peace in the world. And this is true of every nation so courageous, so determined, so inspired as is India.

With them we shall continue to cooperate to achieve a world free from the pangs of hunger, in which families live full and prosperous lives, where friendship among nations replaces fear and suspicion, and where men are free in the pursuit of happiness.

Thank you for the great honor you have done me by inviting me here.