India's presidency at G20 a breakthrough: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar

NEW DELHI: India's G20 presidency was a breakthrough, said Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, adding there was legitimate and rightful recognition of a resurgent India as a global power.

Addressing the research faculty of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) at Sapru House on Wednesday, the Vice-President noted the widespread appreciation for India’s role during its Presidency of the G20, and the success of the recently concluded G20 Leaders’ Summit.

Emphasizing that India was in a defining moment in history, the vice president urged researchers to make people aware of the achievements of the nation, stated an official release. “You are the window for every outsider to the country, and for every Indian citizen to the world,” he underlined.

Highlighting India’s rising stature on the global stage, the Vice-President traced India’s journey from being part of the ‘Fragile Five’ to being the fifth-largest economy in the world. Dhankar added that some of the accomplishments that were taking place in India had once seemed beyond imagination for the world. “They can never imagine that this could happen in a country that has diversity of religion, caste, creed and language,” he elaborated. He urged research scholars of ICWA to be at the forefront of countering “pernicious, sinister narratives that are floated periodically about India”.

Stressing the need to engage in in-depth analysis of such narratives, the Vice-President said, “Your role is important in neutralizing such a crafted strategy only to taint, tarnish, demean, and decimate our Constitutional institutions.”

The Vice-President, who is also the ex-officio President of ICWA, inaugurated the renovated library of ICWA at Sapru House. Ambassador Vijay Thakur Singh, Director-General, ICWA, Shri Sunil Kumar Gupta, Secretary to the Vice-President and other senior officers were also present at the event.