India, Dec , 02 : India’s civilisational continuity and its choice of democracy have not only shaped the nation but also influenced the modern world, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Friday.
Speaking at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Jaishankar noted that India is one of the few ancient civilisations to survive and evolve into a major modern nation state. This uninterrupted civilisational journey, he said, provides India with a unique awareness of its history.
He emphasized that India’s adoption of a democratic political system after independence had far-reaching global consequences. “It was our decision to opt for a democratic political model, which actually made the very idea of democracy a universal political concept; had we not gone that way, I think the democratic model as we know it would have been very regional and very narrow,” Jaishankar said.
The minister further stressed that India has a responsibility to articulate its own values, culture, and history on the world stage. At the same time, he underlined the importance of engaging with Western nations in a cooperative and constructive manner.
“It is our duty, our obligation to express our thoughts and our values, culture, and history. But it can be done in a congenial partnership kind of way because I think that partnership with the West is important. I think it is very much a way of how we shape the world,” Jaishankar added.