Extract of a speech given on India's 60th anniversary of Independence by Vijay Eswaran

Indianness is a spirit and it lends itself to a myriad of interpretations—from banal inanities, to world class achievements. But the essence of the spirit is captured in the lyric, Saare jahan se achcha, Hindustan hamara…Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you do, be proud to be Indian.

The wars of today are won and lost long before a single shot is fired. The real power today is economic strength. Iraq and Afghanistan were lost long before the advent of troops. The troops merely helped to complete the debacle. The mighty Soviet Union with its numerous satellite states fell without a single shot. As did the monolithic Berlin Wall. Whatever happened to the impenetrable Iron Curtain? The UN has been effectively muzzled, first through GATT and then again by WTO. NATO has been overshadowed by the EU. Even the military might of China and US quaver before the OIC or APEC.  Germany, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and even city states like Hong Kong and Singapore exert great influence over global affairs, well beyond their military might due to economic clout.

India is not bound by Kargil and Kanyakumari. It is a consciousness and a concept that spans 4000 years. It has permeated the planet. We are felt but not feared in distant lands stretching from the Pacific Isles to Poland, and from Jamaica to Japan. We have won our victories not in the battle fields of blood and gore but rather in the minds and hearts of man. Our supposed ‘assault weapons’ that manifest, in part, are our music and culture, our creative arts, philosophy and spirituality. Yoga and Ayurveda have spread all over the world today.

This heritage is embodied in our spirit. Our key strategic weapon—the oneness of man as envisioned by Gandhi: casteless, classless, colourless, creedless and countryless. The skirmishes have begun long ago, as the first Indians left the Motherland to settle in the far corners of the world. Let the battle be engaged, for we shall prevail. This is our Millennium! This is India and I am Indian.