After concluding her Nehru Memorial Lecture here on Wednesday she said : “we have not yet achieved the goal of democracy. I think the people of India will stand by us.”

Suu Kyi said that she was rather “sad” than “disappointed” at the time when India failed to support the cause of democracy in Burma. “But I have faith in the lasting friendship between the two countries,” she said.

India had, at a point of time hesitated to support the struggle for democracy in Myanmar.

She preferred to call her country Burma and not Myanmar as coined by the military regime.

Defining friendship, Suu Kyi said : “it should be between the two peoples and not between the two Governments.”

“The Consitution adopted in 2008 in Burma was not in any way a smooth road to democracy. We are just at the beginning of the road to democracy,” she said.

Suu Kyi, however, cautioned that one should not be over-optimistic about assurances for democracy in Burma.

The 2008 Constitution gives too much power to the military. The military may take over the powers of the Government if they think it is necessary. Besides 25% of all the Assemblies, both at the national and provincial level are made up of military nominees who are not elected. The Provincial Governments actually do not have real power and the powers are concentrated in the central authority.

The provisions of the Constitution also bars Suu Kyi from contesting for the office of the country’s President.

In her Nehru Memorial Lecture, Suu Kyi referred to the much used words in the political circles – Law and order.

“I think we will have to put law and order in place. I hate to use the expression law and order because when the military took over in 1988, they called themselves the State Law and Order Restoration Council. So law and order is an expression we approach with great caution. We would rather say rule of law, rule of justice – that we will have to establish peace and security,” she said.

The Chairperson and General Secretary, National League for Democracy, Suu Kyi in her lecture said “democracy in Burma is rooted in non-violence of Mahatma Gandhi.”

She said that she has been inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and Pt Nehru for the challenges they faced. She narrated her family’s relations with Pt Nehru and also made a mention of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s able leadership in the yesteryears of freedom struggle.

She spoke of her days of study at the Convent of Jesus and Mary and Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi when her mother was her country’s envoy in Delhi.

In 1987-88 she worked as a Fellow in the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla when she wrote a book on India and Burma. A copy of this book was released here by the Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari.

Suu Kyi also met the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh. The meeting lasted for half-an-hour following which they met without aides. Dr Singh expressed his happiness to receive her in New Delhi and thanked her for accepting the invitation to deliver the Jawaharlal Nehru lecture.

The two discussed a variety of issues including the national reconciliation process underway in Myanmar and the process of democratization in this context. Dr Singh welcomed the progress made by Suu Kyi and President, Thien Sien.

Both the leaders agreed that people-to-people relations were important. There was also a discussion about greater cooperation between the Parliaments and Judiciaries in the two countries.

Dr Singh said “our good wishes are with you as indeed with your struggle for democracy. We admire you for the indomitable courage you have shown”.