Key Points

"Friends, today, strengthening Bharat is the governing philosophy and resolve of this government. It is steadfast, firm, non-negotiable, and notwithstanding the critics -- it is spinally strong. The nation has never ever projected its stand so firmly. Let us not be misguided by the distraction -- who said what," Dhankhar said.

"The government, and India and its people, stand firmly for the nation--nation first and our nationalism....Those who take a stand for momentary situations are not in the psych or groove of Bharat. Once we attain strength inwards, we can shape our strategic environment outwards," he added.

The Vice-President said that browsing through the pages of 'New World: 21st Century Global Order in India', he felt the imprint of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in the author's thought.

"Savarkar, despite all the untenable misgivings and misgivings in extremity, remains a celebrated thinker who stood at the wee hours of the post-war order. Savarkar, a staunch realist, believed in a post-war world where nations would act only in pursuit of their own interests, not based on idealism, morality or international solidarity," Dhankhar said.

"Imagine how prophetic he has been. Look around the last fortnight, the last three months. All of us have seen all this. He rejected pacifist or utopian internationalism and emphasised that India must safeguard its sovereignty through strength, not by relying on Western-dominated institutions like the League of Nations or later the United Nations, both ignoring due place to one-sixth of humanity," he added.

He said that he could not agree more with the author, Dr. Ram Madhav, when he highlighted a perpetual decline of global multilateralism and prescribed that India give up romanticism and focus on economic growth.

Underlining the roots of strategic thinking in the nation, Dhankar stated, "George Tanham, an American thinker, three decades ago, in a treatise, effectively suggested that there is an absence of strategic thinking in India on account of its Hindu philosophical roots, and there were takers of it. But with Shri Ram Madhav's volume, George Tanhan stands corrected."

"He couldn't be more wrong. His analysis is far distant from the ground reality over the centuries in this country.....The principle 'Rajadharma' (or ethical statecraft) and 'Dharmayudha' (just war) in the Mahabharata; Dhamma diplomacy in the Ashokan edicts; and the Mandala Theory of Kautilya are all examples of theorising strategic environments -- all feast to the intellect. These philosophies have always been relevant, but in our contemporary challenging times, these are the need of the global order," he added.

He further underlined, "These are times when we are easily misunderstood. The travesty of it is that when you say these things, hypocritical psychopathy overtakes the traction to denude you of your position by exactly pointing a finger which normally should be pointed towards them. Friends, even the Fabian socialists of the 50s cannot disagree with the direction of the country as we strive to attain. And what do we strive to attain? We are not creating Bharat, it was not born on 15th August 1947. We only got rid of colonial power 'srve bhvntu sukhinH, srve sntu niraamyaaH' that is our philosophy. May all beings be happy, may all beings be free from illness."

Emphasising the peace-loving nature of Bharat, he stated, "Friends, this country has always stood for global peace and harmony, never having engaged at any time in its history in expansionism. The contemporaneous global scenario today is alarmingly concerning and also equally worrisome, particularly for peace-loving nations like Bharat....As Bharat achieves universal well-being for all citizens, we become role models for others."

"We lead by example, not by proclamation. We already lead in areas like digital public infrastructure where global South nations can follow our path. It was the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Modi that, during the G20, the concerns of the Global South could be put on the radar. It happened for the first time. It was for the first time during the G20 that the African Union was put on par with the European Union in the membership of the G20. I would call it a game-changing development. And therefore, when we assess the progress of Bharat, our outlook must be very broad, not dictated by isolated incidents," he added.

He said that the pathway to Bharat's rise would require careful trading. There are forces that are determined to make India's life difficult. These sinister forces want to strike by dividing Indians on issues like language, he said.

"Which country in the world can take pride in its language richness like Bharat. Look at our classical languages, their number. In parliament, 22 such languages allow and afford the opportunity for anyone to express themselves in them. It would require many such thinkers to come together and debate, discuss challenges and opportunities, and aid policymakers in making the right strategic choices," he said.

"The evolution of policies must take place now with a little more representative character. India's Think tanks are available in various formats and across different political parties. It is required that there be convergence... the political temperature has to come down. There has to be greater dialogue amongst political parties. I firmly believe we have no enemies in the country. We have enemies outside. And some who are enemies within a small fraction, they are rooted to outside forces, inimical to Bharat," he added.

- ANI