Coimbatore – “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” This is the famous quote of the former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. It succinctly conveys the meaning that every crisis offers a chance or an opportunity for humanity to invent and move forward, said the former Ambassador Mr. T.P.Sreenivasan.

He delivered the chief guest address at the prestigious TEDX Youth @SSVM an independent event organized by the SSVM Institutions at SSVM World School campus, Singanallur Coimbatore on June 18,2022. This was the first TEDX event organized in a School in the city.

To substantiate the point Mr. Sreenivasan said that after World War II it was thought that the world would never recover from the devastations. But several good things came out of it. It gave birth to the establishment of the United Nations which vowed to rid the world the scourge of war. Though it had never happened, and the UN had not fulfilled its mandate, with all its disabilities and weaknesses, it still holds out the hope for the world community. It has not created heaven on earth, but has prevented hell from happening.

He pointed out that 2001 to 2020 were the dreadful decades. On September 11, 2001 the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centers were destroyed by aerial terrorist attacks. This unprecedented incident was said to have been foretold by the 16th Century French writer Nostradamus.

Nostradamus had stated that “two steel birds will fall from the sky on the metropolis…the sky will burn…the rivers will flow with blood, and the undead will roam the earth for little time.” This awful incident had humiliated the US that had the capacity to destroy the world 55 times over. But after this tragic event, not even a single terrorist attack has happened in the US.

The economic meltdown had broiled the world economy to the point of great apprehension and concern. But it had given rise to the formation of G20.

After the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic the US was smug with the thought that the developed country was immune to the disease. Yet, there was a degree of caution that the country should remain guarded against those coming from Africa and Latin American countries who might bring the disease with them.

It exposed the vulnerability of the developed countries to which the developing countries always looked up to for guidance and inspiration. India rose to the occasion and supplied medicines and vaccines to the US, and thus played a role reversal on the world stage.

Mr. Sreenivasan further stated that human depravity did not end there. China intruded into 1,000 km of Indian territory and flexed its muscles in the South China Sea and Hong Kong.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin, nurturing the dream of restoring the glory and glamour of the erstwhile United Soviet Socialist Republic, had been waging a war with Ukraine. His was a far-fetched thought. In the name of safeguarding the security of one country, the sovereignty of another country should not be put to test.

To counter the Russian aggression in Ukraine, the US and the NATO had deemed it fit not to wage a war with weapons but to fight it out with economic sanctions. But the truth is that the economic sanctions not only affect the targeted country, but also has cascading effect on other countries too, such as soaring fuel prices and impending food shortage. India has rightly initiated steps to overcome the happenings during these turbulent times, Mr. Sreenivasan added.

The TEDEX event had an array of speakers, including select number of faculty and students of the SSVM Institutions who spoke on various community oriented topics. The founder of the SSVM Institutions Dr Manimekalai Mohan and Trustee Mr. Mohandoss felicitated. Dr Venunadhan B.Pillai gave the welcome address. There were sprinkling of cultural events in between the talks.