Greece and India have much in common. We are modern nation states built on the foundations of ancient civilisations. “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” is a timeless Sanskrit phrase that translates to “The World is a Family”. It has guided India’s external outlook down the ages and continues to do so. As sister civilisations from the earliest days of human society, Greece and India are special members of this family.
Our bilateral political and economic relationship goes back 2,500 years. Greece was the fountainhead of western culture and its imprint extended across continents. In India too, there is enormous evidence of Greek travellers, traders, scholars and warriors interacting with our ancestors. The most famous Greek to come to India, was of course Alexander the Great. He arrived at the head of an invading army in 326 BC — but he left as a friend. Every Indian schoolchild knows of how Alexander and the Indian King Porus fought a pitched battle and then, impressed by each other’s courage and dignity, became allies.
Shortly afterwards, Emperor Chandragupta founded the first great Indian empire, the “Mauryan Empire”, which covered much of the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta, who was known to Greeks of the time as Sandrocottos, was helped in his mission by Seleucus Nicator. Seleucus was Alexander’s general and founded his own Greek empire in Asia. It is believed that Chandragupta married Helen, the daughter of Seleucus and she became his queen.
A fusion of Greek and Indian cultural influences gave rise to what is termed “Greco-Buddhist art” and to the “Gandhara School of art and sculpture”. The Greek geographer Ptolemy mapped the seven islands that today make up the city of Mumbai. He called this collection of islands “Heptanesia”, which is the Greek term for “seven islands”. More recently, in 18th and 19th century India, there was a flourishing community of Greek businessmen, traders in spices, jute and other commodities. The Greek Orthodox Church in Kolkata still stands proudly, with its impressive Doric columns.
I have given you only a few examples of the exchanges between Greece and India since antiquity. Yet, to my mind, the most important attribute we share is a commonality in values. This city, Athens, is regarded as the “cradle of democracy”. In ancient India too, there was a tradition of “city republics”, such as the “Licchavi republic” in the modern state of Bihar. The values of liberal democracy, popular sovereignty and transparent government continue to guide us and are cornerstones of India’s relationship with Greece and with the European Union. Ours is a partnership of principles. It is much more than a transaction. It is a friendship tested by time, by cherished beliefs — and by sacrifice.
Yesterday, I paid my respects at the “Phaleron War Cemetery”. The remains of 74 Indian soldiers, who died fighting for the liberation of Greece during World War II, lie in the cemetery. I wondered what motivated those soldiers to fight for, and among a people, and in a country so far from their families, and their homes. It serves as a permanent reminder of how India is a steadfast friend to the Greek people — as well as a stakeholder in the continued security and integrity of Europe.
India was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the European Economic Community. This decision, taken in 1962, represented a conscious effort to forge a partnership with Europe. Since then the EEC and later the EU have functioned as a pillar of our foreign policy. The Indian nation building project and the European integration project have run in parallel. After independence from colonial rule in 1947, India sought to put behind it the bitterness of the past and make a fresh beginning — to shape a modern, united nation rooted in shared cultural experiences and shared economic aspirations. Europe and the EU have been motivated by similar hopes — and that is why we in India feel an affinity.
Like you, we recognise and believe that the “age of empires” is over. The 21st century will be built by democracies such as ours —democracies that place a premium and a priority on the wellbeing of common citizens; on jobs and opportunities for local communities, and on a global development model that is economically viable, ecologically sustainable and ethical in its architecture. In the pursuit of these goals, Europe will find no better companion than India. In 2004, the EU and India inaugurated a “Strategic Partnership”. In 2017, we commemorated 55 years of working together. The 14th India-EU Summit, held in New Delhi in October 2017, has helped energise India-EU relations. Now, as the European Commission seeks to craft a new “India Strategy”, it is for us to raise the bar. There are new frontiers for us to explore.
Europe is no stranger to the opportunities that India holds. Yet so rapid and so transformational are the economic changes in today’s India that many of the old rules — about gradualism in the pace of investment decisions for instance — no longer apply. I would urge business leaders and economic policymakers in the audience to appreciate the rapidity with which India is moving ahead. Our GDP growth is the highest for any major economy. In the last three years or so India climbed 42 places in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index. This has been the biggest jump by any country. A knowledge-based culture is changing the face of the Indian workplace. By 2025, the Indian economy is expected to be valued at US Dollar 5 trillion. This will make India the world’s third largest consumer market.
Technology is driving not just services but also sophisticated manufacturing and innovation in farming. Technology is also changing social attitudes. Using technology, including the humble but extremely versatile mobile phone, in the past four years 300 million underprivileged Indians have been assisted by the government in opening bank accounts. Under the Ujjwala programme, subsidised cooking gas facilities have been made available to 80 million poor families. Large-scale sanitation programmes, the de-polluting and renewal of our major rivers and river basins, the upgrading of our cities and the relentless quest for renewable energy are as crucial to the modernisation of India as impressive FDI numbers and GDP expansion. We cannot choose one or the other. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Europe had that luxury. Today, India doesn’t.
Edited excerpts from President Ram Nath Kovind's speech at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, Athens, June 19