NEW DELHI: In a rare public appearance, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval spoke in length about the idea of India as he said that despite its diversity in culture, language, ethnicity, and ideologies, the country is bonded by its rich common civilisation.
Speaking at the book launch of ‘Ganga: The river of Sanatan Civilisation’ by author Neera Misra, Doval also said that India has a spiritual civilisation that has never been threatened.
“In the last eight-nine years, I hardly made any public appearances. But this occasion is different,” Doval said during the launch.
Talking about the idea of India, Doval said, “India is a civilisation of state. Its bedrock is the common civilisation where every language, every ethnicity, every faith coexist.”
“Our common heritage is thousands of years old,” he pointed out, adding, “A commonly shared civilisation can have differences in thoughts, ideologies, beliefs, languages and ethnicity.”
“Our state, India is a civilised state; it’s not based on religion, not based on language, nor ethnicity but on a civilisation despite the different languages, culture and ethnicity,” he said.
Giving the examples of Jews, Doval said that their concept of nationhood was about 2000 years old. Every Jew spreading across the globe had a dream of a nation. That dream was ultimately realised when they finally had their own country in 1948.
“A nation is built by the collective consciousness of the people who identify themselves with their glorious past and they want to carry it forward for the future generation,’’ he said.
“This concept of a nation may not be accepted by many people as of now but they will also realise when India will reach its potential,” Doval hoped.
Doval also called on the citizens to preserve the culture and civilisation and pass it on to the next generation. “We must preserve our culture and civilisation and carry it forward for the next generation,” he said.
Doval also pointed out the role Ganga played in developing the idea of India and making it a spiritual civilisation.
“Ganga holds a significant role in our civilisation. Its journey from a stream in the Himalayas and to a delta in Sunderbans is key to our civilisation,” Doval said.
“It is on the bank of Ganga we saw the growth of a civilisation, we saw the rise of cultures, we saw the rise of cities which led to the development of modern India,” he pointed out.