Shared aspirations bind the nations of India and Egypt, writes Rajendra Singh Rathore* On the 58th Independence Day of India, I have the pleasure and privilege to extend my warm greetings to all fellow Indians living in Egypt and also to all readers of this esteemed newspaper. Fifty-seven years ago, at the stroke of the midnight hour, India emerged as a free nation after centuries of foreign rule. An ancient civilisation with a 5,000-year- old history embarked on the journey of building a modern nation state characterised by a secular, multi-party and truly participatory democratic polity. It is the result of these years of toil that India today has the proud distinction of being the world's largest democracy, with stable, mature, vibrant and exemplary democratic governance and institutions robustly functioning at all levels -- nation, state and village. This was amply demonstrated in the recent general elections when India underwent an exemplary rotation of power. The people of India, determined to overcome the economic disadvantages they inherited from colonial rule, have toiled, and continue to toil, to build a forward-looking and self-reliant economy. It's due to their efforts that India, today, is the world's fourth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity and the second fastest growing economy. Its macro-economic indicators are at present the best in the history of independent India with high growth, high foreign exchange reserves, increased foreign investment inflow and robust increase in exports and low inflation and interest rates. From a shortage economy of food and foreign exchange, the Indian economy has now become a surplus one. From an agro-based economy it has emerged as a service-oriented one. And after having been an aid recipient, India has now joined the aid- givers club. With a vast and skilled workforce and a strong demographic advantage -- every second Indian is less than 25 years old -- Indians have emerged as leading players in the new knowledge-based economy whose mainstay is information technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, space and nuclear sciences. At the same time India has consolidated its strength in traditional areas of small and medium enterprises and in agriculture. On the social front too, development has been rapid as is evident from education and health indices. With increasing transparency in governance, greater emphasis on gender equality and additional expenditure on health and education, India is poised for the great leap forward. Conditioned to pursue consensus in a land full of diversity, India has always adopted policies that further international peace and peaceful resolution of disputes, international cooperation and development, non- interference in the internal affairs of nations and advocacy of a multi-polar, just and equitable world order. It was in this spirit that India espoused the five principles of peaceful co-existence, 50 years ago and which, to this day, guide India's quest for peaceful relations with its neighbours -- exemplified by the positive and productive developments in relations with Pakistan and China. India believes that violence in any form cannot be accepted as an instrument of negotiation in a democratic political order. Hence, India, along with other like-minded nations, is determined to combat terrorism through all possible democratic means. Two of the oldest civilisations, India and Egypt share a historic relationship nursed both by their leadership as well as friendship between the two peoples. It continues to strengthen with the support of the highest political leadership in both countries and is reflected in the economic and cultural domains, with bilateral trade taking a quantum leap and the cultural side having seen resurgence. Both countries share a unique commonalty rooted in more than five millennia of civilisational history and cultural heritage. We are both ancient nations and young democracies. Together with like-minded nations, we represent the aspirations of people around the world committed to peace, development and freedom. On behalf of the people of India, I acknowledge with gratitude the good wishes of the government and the people of the Arab Republic of Egypt on India's Independence Day, and wish them a bright and happy future with peace, progress and prosperity for all. * The writer is India's ambassador to Egypt.
