Overview
- Speaking at the opening of the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue at Bharat Mandapam on January 10, the National Security Advisor told roughly 3,000 delegates that India must draw strength from history to rebuild national power.
- He said “revenge” can be a motivating force and called for strengthening not only border security but also the economy and social development to restore national greatness.
- Invoking freedom fighters such as Bhagat Singh, Subhas Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi, he urged discipline and tenacity, and quoted Napoleon while lauding the country’s current leadership.
- He described India’s past as advanced and non-aggressive, asserting it did not attack others or destroy temples, a characterization that several historians have disputed in published critiques.
- The three-day youth forum runs through January 12, and in a separate exchange at the event Doval said he largely avoids using phones and the internet, relying on other means of communication.