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.