India must ensure universal values like democracy, religious freedom, peace across globe: Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: With great power comes great responsibility, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday quoting a famous dialogue from Hollywood blockbuster "Spiderman" to emphasise that India's responsibility will increase in sync with its rising global stature.

In an address at an event, Singh said he envisioned a developed India that ensures that universal values like democracy, religious freedom, dignity and world peace are established across the globe.

The defence minister said the government is working to build a developed India by 2047, focusing on almost all sectors of the country.

"India is not an emerging but a resurgent power which is regaining its place on the global economic map under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Singh said.

The defence minister also underlined the need for building a welfare state with high standard of living, social harmony and equal participation of women in the development process.

"Together, let us dream of an India where people have the same feeling of nation building; where all Indians work together without any discrimination," he said.

"Let us dream of an India where people are judged not by their caste and religion, but by their knowledge and character; where every Indian has access to human rights and has commitment towards their duties," he said.

"Let us dream of an India which is strong enough to defend itself and be ready to stand against any injustice anywhere in the world," Singh added.

He began his address by stating that until the 17th century, India had a remarkably strong economy, constituting over a quarter of the world's GDP, but it lost its glory due to a weak military and political slavery.

The defence minister asserted that the government is working on both these fronts to ensure that India regains its old glorious status. He stated that no stone is being left unturned to create a strong, young and tech-savvy armed force on the back of robust defence industry which indigenously manufactures state-of-the-art weapons and equipment, while efforts are also being made to get rid of the colonial mindset.

"A strong military not only secures the borders, but also protects the culture and economy of a country. The goal is to build a strong, self-reliant and prosperous nation, which caters to its own needs as well as the requirements of friendly countries," he said.

"This is an era of renaissance. It is time to re-establish India as a global superpower," he added, according to the defence ministry.

Talking about the political landscape in the country, Singh said political parties are integral to a democracy and it cannot survive without them.

At the same time, he rued that many political parties in India do not operate based on any ideology and their politics revolve around a person or a family or a caste.

"I think such politics should have no place in a developed India. Politics should be based on ideology and values and not on the basis of family, religion and caste," he said, speaking at Times Network's India Economic Conclave.

"If I talk about the political future of India, I wish that as we move ahead, our democracy should be strengthened in the same way. Criminalisation of politics should end, and our country should move forward on the path of credible politics. Politics should be understood as a medium of public service," he said.

The defence minister also spoke about social development and that he imagines an India where there is no discrimination of any kind in the society.

"If we talk about the social development of India, then I imagine an India where there is no discrimination of any kind in the society. Even today, the Constitution makes this arrangement that there should be no discrimination in the country on the basis of religion, caste and gender etc. But our developed India should be one step ahead of this theory," he said.

Singh also highlighted India's overall progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, including in the economic sphere, and how efforts are underway to take India's cultural identity to a new height.

"We are constantly trying to take India's cultural identity to a new height and I want to see the same India in future also where it has a cultural sovereignty," he said.

"There are some universal values, which are not for any one country but for the entire humanity. As a developed India, our responsibility will be much more than this. You must have heard a dialogue from the Spiderman movie that 'With great power comes great responsibility'," Singh said.

"When we will emerge as a superpower, we will have to ensure that universal values like democracy, religious freedom, dignity of human beings and world peace are established all over the world. Yes, we also have to keep in mind that we should not impose our views on anyone," he said.

Singh also highlighted the government's efforts to boost indigenous defence production so that state-of-the-art weapon systems developed within the country are used by the Indian armed forces.

He said the value of India's annual domestic defence production has crossed Rs one lakh crore mark.

"If I talk about exports, then seven-eight years ago the export of defence equipment was not even Rs 1,000 crore. Today it has become about Rs 16,000 crore," he said.