"He who loves not his country can love nothing" said Byron. Our motherland nurtures us and grooms us into responsible citizens of the world. Every individual, must therefore love his motherland without any expectations and contribute to its well-being.
Ask not what the country has done for you, ask what you have done for the country. One's identity is basically linked to one's land of birth, and India our land of birth is vast from the snowy peaks of the Himalayas to the backwaters of Kerala. It offers us various blessings, so that we can be truly proud of calling ourselves Indians. India is a developing country which has made rapid progress in all spheres of human activity since independence. Coupled with brilliant past rights since the days of Indus Valley civilisation, India has made many achievements in the fields of art, architecture, culture and religion. Our Vedas and Upanishads, along with the timeless epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata display how splendid the country was in the past. In the fields of science and technology, India's contribution has been immense. It was India that taught the world how to count.
Even in the field of medicine and education, our contribution stands apart. Ayurveda, the earliest form of medicine known to human civilisation is India's contribution to the world. About 2600 years ago, surgeons like Shushrutha undertook complicated surgeries like cataract, caesarian operations and fitting of artificial limbs. Indians were the first to navigate the choppy seas and the word 'navigation' owes its origin to the Sanskrit word 'navgaith'.
Our one billion plus population comprises of different cultural and racial groups but, we all share a common bond of Indian-ness and are a living symbol of unity in diversity. An emerging super power economically and technologically, India will soon find itself a place of pride. All we need to come up is the will to accomplish this. All of us thus, belong to such a country which along with its glorious past is marching confidently towards the future unveiling all its strength for all to see and admire. This reason is enough for us to be proud to be INDIANS.