VP Radhakrishnan Says Development Must Have A Human Face, Honours 'Amma' At 73
India's Vice President C P Radhakrishnan launched humanitarian programmes at the Mata Amritanandamayi Math and said India's development must carry a human face
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| Image Source: @VPIndia on X |
C P Radhakrishnan gave the assistance to Nepal's ambassador to India, Surender Thapa, at the Mata Amritanandamayi Math in Amritapuri, in Kerala's Kollam district. The occasion was Vishwa Seva Dinam, a day of service the organisation observes on the spiritual leader's birthday.
Known to her followers as Amma, Mother, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi was born in a fishing village in Kollam in 1953 and is widely referred to as the hugging saint for the embraces she gives to those who come to her. The Math she founded runs hospitals, schools and relief operations in India and abroad.
Radhakrishnan also distributed certificates for free surgeries for underprivileged patients at the Math's Amrita Hospitals in Kochi and Faridabad, and financial assistance for the families of fishermen. He released a souvenir marking the 30th anniversary of Amritakuteeram, the Math's housing programme, which has completed 50,000 homes across India and Sri Lanka, along with three new publications.
In his address, the vice-president described Amma's life as a message of love, compassion and selfless service, and said it reminded the country that seva, or service, is a way of life.
He set out the scale of the organisation's work. Charitable medical care worth more than ₹890 crore has been provided in India since 1998, he said, benefiting over 64 lakh patients. More than 55,000 scholarships have been given worldwide. About 2.5 lakh women from poor and vulnerable communities have been supported through start-up capital, vocational training and microfinance under AmritaSREE, with more than 15,000 self-help groups. More than one lakh people receive pensions, and over 10 lakh trees have been planted worldwide as part of a United Nations campaign.
"When a woman becomes economically empowered, the impact extends far beyond the individual," he said, adding that women's empowerment was about dignity, opportunity and leadership rather than participation alone.
Radhakrishnan said the real measure of such work lay not in statistics but in the transformation of individual lives, and that the true test of service came during crises. He cited the Math's response to the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Gujarat earthquake, floods in Uttarakhand and Kerala, the Covid-19 pandemic and the Wayanad landslides, and its contribution of ₹100 crore to the government's Namami Gange river cleaning programme.
Turning to the wider argument, he said a world facing conflict, displacement, poverty and environmental strain needed more than technological progress. "It needs compassionate advancement," he said.
He linked this to the government's stated goal of a developed India, saying development required infrastructure, technology, investment and growth, but must also have a human face. "While marching towards attaining a Vikshit Bharat, we must ensure that modernity and our civilisational values move together," he said, describing "vikas bhi, virasat bhi", development as well as heritage, as the guiding principle. A developed India, he added, must be an inclusive one where no one is left behind.
Vice President Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan launched several humanitarian initiatives of Mata Amritanandamayi Math during the Vishwa Seva Dinam celebrations at Amritapuri, Kollam, Keralam today.
— Vice-President of India (@VPIndia) September 27, 2026
Here are some glimpses. pic.twitter.com/3noKQLQ3jg
Recalling the inauguration of the Amrita Hospital in Faridabad in August 2022, Radhakrishnan referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's description of Amma then as an embodiment of love, compassion, service and sacrifice.
The event was attended by the governor of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Kerala's chief minister V D Satheesan, the union civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, and, among others, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who also posted photographs on social media of receiving the VP in Thiruvananthapuram.