As Indians, we can be good citizens of our country only by first being proud of our country. Only when we develop a sense of pride, we will work towards the welfare of the society and the development of the land.

Some of you may ask, ‘what is it that we have to be proud of? What is so special about this land?’ If one were to answer this question completely, even a thousand pages would not be sufficient.

But here are some facts that will not only surprise you, but will also give you a glimpse of the greatness of our motherland, its culture, its wisdom and its phenomenal achievements in all fields;

1. India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.
2. India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.

3. The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studies more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
4. Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software – a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987.

5. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans.
6. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years’ ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization.

7. Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century.
8. The art of Navigation was born in the river Sindh 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit 'Nou'.

9. Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun centuries before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.
10. The value of "pi" was first calculated by Budhayana, who explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematicians.

And this, my dear friends is barely the tip of the iceberg. Be proud to be Indian.