Bharat, known and described as Bharatvarsh in our ancient historical texts is one of the most ancient civilizations in the world. Hominid activity in the Indian subcontinent stretches back over 250,000 years, and it is, therefore, one of the oldest inhabited regions on the planet.

It is now understood that significant human activity was underway in India by the Holocene Period (10,000 years ago) and that many historical assumptions, based upon earlier work in Egypt and Mesopotamia, need to be reviewed and revised. While the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt have long been recognized for their contributions to civilization, India has often been overlooked, especially in the West, though its history and culture is equally rich, if not richer.

The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 7000-c. 600 BCE) was among the greatest of the ancient world, covering more territory than either Egypt or Mesopotamia and producing an equally vibrant and progressive culture. In light of recent under-sea excavation and exploration in Dwarka area of Gujarat, the periodicity of Hindu Sanskriti is seriously being revised and reviewed.

Bharatvarsh is the birthplace of four great world religions - Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism - as well as the philosophical school of Charvaka which influenced the development of scientific thought and inquiry. The inventions and innovations of the people of ancient India include many aspects of modern life taken for granted today including the flush toilet, drainage and sewer systems, public pools, mathematics, veterinary science, plastic surgery, board games, yoga and meditation, and many more. The loftiness of human thought as it evolved in India is reflected in not only the four Vedas but in the Upanishads which are primarily focused commentaries on the Vedas.

It is important to note that while politically Indian subcontinent might never had been one nation or under one central political authority, culturally, it has always been one. Gautam, the Buddha was born in Nepal but he received his enlightenment at Gaya (Bihar), delivered his first sermon post ‘self-realization’ at Sarnath, near Varanasi (UP) and attained nirvana at Kushinagar (UP). It was Indian Kings like Ashoka the Great (304 BC – 232 BC) and King Kanishka (72 – 144 CE) of the Kushan dynasty who helped spread Buddha’s message not just in India but to Lanka, Nepal, Tibet, China, Afghanistan and Far East Asia. We still find strong influence of Sanatan culture in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam etc. It is worthwhile to note the immortal tribute attributed to the great Vietnamese freedom fighter Ho Chi Minh,” Here in Indochina do we observe the difference between two civilizations. One came from the north (China) and brought with it war and destruction; the one that came from the west (India) brought with it peace, philosophy, music and culture,”. Revealing, indeed!

India faced invasions via its northwestern frontiers – the Persians under Cyrus (550 BC) and the Greeks under Alexander (327 BC) were amongst the first but their impact was rather limited. The Islamic invasion of the Indian Subcontinent started with the conquest of Sind in 712 AD by Mohammad bib Qasim and over the next 8 – 9 centuries, spread across undivided India, salami slicing the local kings. Under Aurangzeb (1658-1707), the Mughal Empire covered most of North-Central and parts of Western India. In 1857, India came under the direct control of the British Crown and, for once, India emerged as one political entity, under a central, unified control. When the British left in 1947, India had almost 600 princes/nawabs/ kings as claimants to political authority and power. It took all of Sardar Patel’s political sagacity to win over the individual (often highly egoistic) kings and make them agree to amalgamate their principalities into one, unified India, politically.

Before the British left, they had salami sliced India; Burma got separated as a political entity in 1937, Pakistan (East and West) was created in 1947 by bifurcating Bengal, Punjab and adding North West Frontier, Baluchistan and Sind to create a new political entity. Since then, India has faced numerous separatist movements in North East, Kashmir and in Punjab. Right from 1940s, a section of Sikh community resented clubbing of Sikhs with Hindus, The Khalistan movement of 1980s had roots in Punjabi Suba movement of 1960s, including the Master Tara Singh movement. Two hostile neighbours, Pakistan and China have done their best to keep our borders alive with attempts to nibble at those, whenever opportunity arose. In 1962, China annexed huge tracts of Indian territory – 43,000 sq km, as per certain estimates in Aksai Chin (Ladakh) alone; they are also laying claim to the entire province of Arunachal Pradesh in the North East. Pakistan annexed about 30% of J&K State in 1947-48 including entire Gilgit-Baltistan. We continue to maintain troops on Siachen glacier in J&K since 1984; India has fought 4 wars with Pakistan since Independence (1947-48, 1965, 1971 and 1999 Kargil war). This apart, Pakistan has waged a low intensity indirect war against India by propping the separatist movements in Punjab (1980 – till date) and J&K (1985-till date). The Naxalite movement present in certain tribal parts of Chhattisgarh, AP, Orissa and Maharashtra draws sustenance from the ideological support it draws from the Communist movement that affected parts of Telangana and Andhra since independence.

In light of the above background, it is only a strong Nationalist sentiment that can act as a glue to hold India together. A population as huge as ours (+140 Crores) with huge diversities of language (22 officially recognized plus 19,000 odd languages, dialects and sub-dialects), strong imprint of regional culture, history and cuisine, can be held together only by that strong surge of Nationalistic sentiment as was exhibited during times of national emergency – be it the 1971 Bangladesh crisis, the 1999 Kargil War, Uri surgical strike or the Covid catastrophe. It is interesting to note that even though people in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regions speak the same language (Telegu) and have a number of commonalities, they chose to part ways in 2014 on grounds of ‘regional disparities.

Since becoming PM in 2014, Narendra Modi has been trying to encourage and foster the Nationalist movement in India – that feeling which makes us take pride of being Indian. The ‘Aatam Nirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’ movement are shining examples of our Govt trying to inculcate a sense of pride in being Indian. The strong back up given by Govt of India to domestic vaccine makers during the Covid outbreak (vis-à-vis costlier foreign imports) helped India deliver 2 billion vaccines to its own populace besides earning wholesome international gratitude for exporting almost 24 Crore doses to 101 countries, most of it free of cost.

Today, India has emerged as the fifth largest economy in the world. Indian economy is poised for the best global growth in 2023-24. Our Govt has maintained a nuanced balance in its foreign policy during the Russia-Ukraine war that has split the world into two mutually antagonist groups. However, there is no dearth of quislings in our society who are not just petty-minded detractors but willing to sell their souls for petty gains or for scoring brownie points. People like RaGa are willing to ‘invite’ intervention by Western forces to remove a democratically elected govt. Or, like Satyapal Malik, peddling lies to gullible, agenda driven media who are always ready to ‘paint the dog mad’ so as to create an ‘atmosphere’ where it can be killed with impunity. As the well-known media personality Maj(rtd) Gaurav Arya often says, doors of Indian forts and fortresses have always been opened from inside (by opportunists and traitors). We, the ordinary but aware and concerned citizens of India shall have to wear our hearts on our sleeve to demonstrate our love for Mother India. It is we who have to guard against these ‘foreign intervention’ seekers so that they do not inflict any damage on India!