VP Radhakrishnan Launches Humanitarian Initiatives at Amma's 73rd Birthday Event

Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan took part in the Vishwa Seva Dinam celebrations at the Mata Amritanandamayi Math in Amritapuri, Kollam, on Sunday, marking the 73rd birthday of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi. During the event, he launched a series of humanitarian initiatives run by the Math.

As part of the programme, the Vice-President handed over ₹2 crore in assistance for flood relief in Nepal to Nepal's Ambassador to India, Surender Thapa. He also distributed certificates for free surgeries for underprivileged beneficiaries at Amrita Hospitals in Kochi and Faridabad, along with financial assistance to families of fishermen.

He released the Amritakuteeram 30th Anniversary Souvenir, which commemorates the completion of 50,000 homes across India and Sri Lanka, as well as three new Ashram publications: The Hanuman Chalisa, The Ocean of Grace and Satyam Shivam Sundaram.

Addressing the gathering, Radhakrishnan described his presence at Amritapuri on Amma's 73rd birthday as a profound privilege and a source of immense happiness. He offered his respects to Mata Amritanandamayi Devi and wished her a long life devoted to national service. Recalling an earlier programme in Coimbatore to which he had invited Amma, he said he still remembered the thousands who had gathered to greet her and seek her blessings.

The Vice-President said Amma's life is a message of love, compassion and selfless service, reminding the nation of the timeless Bharatiya truth that seva is a way of life and an expression of oneness with humanity. From childhood, he noted, she felt the suffering of those around her and responded with food, clothing, affection and compassion, rooted in the spiritual understanding that all beings share an essential divine oneness.

Highlighting healthcare as one of the most inspiring dimensions of the Math's work, he said charitable medical care worth over ₹890 crore has been provided in India since 1998, benefiting more than 64 lakh patients through free treatment and surgeries. He recalled the inauguration of Amrita Hospital in Faridabad in August 2022 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's description of Amma as an embodiment of love, compassion, service and sacrifice, and as a carrier of India's spiritual tradition.

On creating future opportunities, the Vice-President said the Math has provided more than 55,000 scholarships worldwide and pointed to tablet-aided education, after-school tutoring, adult literacy and vocational training for disadvantaged communities. He particularly highlighted AmritaSREE, noting that around 2.5 lakh women from poor and vulnerable communities have been supported through start-up capital, vocational training and microfinance, with more than 15,000 Self-Help Groups. When a woman becomes economically empowered, he said, the impact extends far beyond the individual, strengthening families and communities, and added that Nari Shakti is about empowerment, dignity, opportunity and leadership, not merely participation.

Radhakrishnan said what began with the compassion of a young girl in a village has grown into a humanitarian movement touching millions of lives in India and abroad. He cited the construction of more than 50,000 homes for the homeless, scholarships for thousands of children, pensions for over one lakh impoverished people and livelihood initiatives. While acknowledging the scale of the work, he said the real greatness lies in the human lives behind the numbers, and that service must be measured by the transformation it creates.

The Vice-President said the true test of seva often comes in times of crisis, highlighting the Math's response during the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Gujarat earthquake, Uttarakhand floods, Kerala floods, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Wayanad landslides. He also noted the Math's contribution of ₹100 crore to the Government of India's Namami Gange programme, along with tree plantation, cleanliness drives and initiatives for sustainable rural living. The Amala Bharatam initiative, he said, has carried out large numbers of cleanliness drives across the country, while more than 10 lakh trees have been planted worldwide under the UN Billion Tree Campaign.

He said the spirit inspiring Amma's work is deeply connected to India's civilisational ethos, and that seva recognises no boundaries of caste, creed, language, region or nationality, only the shared identity of humanity. This, he said, is the philosophy underlying Vishwa Seva Dinam.

Referring to global challenges including conflicts, humanitarian crises, natural disasters, displacement, poverty, loneliness and environmental pressures, the Vice-President said humanity needs more than technological advancement; it needs compassionate advancement. He said India is progressing towards the vision of a Viksit Bharat, which requires infrastructure, technology, investment, innovation and economic growth, but stressed that development must have a human face. Modernity and civilisational values must move together, he said, with "Vikas Bhi, Virasat Bhi" as the guiding mantra, and Viksit Bharat must be an inclusive Bharat where no one is left behind.