Bharat: More than just a nation

Land in the Southern Hemisphere of the world - 20.5937° N, 78.9629° E to be exact -

Known as the Golden Bird,

Home to the Royal Bengal Tiger,

The mother of freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh,

The land of the Vedas,

And the teacher of our lives.

Bharat is home to the greatest culture, people, innovators, philanthropists, fighters, sons, daughters, and diverse flora and fauna. Bharat is not merely a country; it is an emotion.

It is a land whose journey cannot be fully expressed in words - a land revered like a mother. Her history and culture are as diverse as the corals of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. For ages, our country has imbibed in us the values of love, empathy, courage, and gratitude.

From our ancient scriptures - with the 'Rigveda' being the oldest one written in the world - to the teachings of the 'Bhagavad Gita and the 'Ramayana', Bharat has always shown us the ethical ways to live, behave, and even think. She is the mother of righteousness and justice.

For generations, she has taught us, fed us, and cared for us. From her beautiful snow-capped Himalayas to her sacred rivers, from the dark, deep and lovely woods of the Greater Assam region to the coastal shores of Goa, at every step across the land, her beauty is never-ending and abundant.

There was indeed a time when some greedy men came to our motherland and tried to exploit her and her children. But their atrocities only made her sons and daughters stronger - inspiring them to free themselves and their beloved mother from captivity.

They undeniably tried to break her family, sowing seeds of division by making her children believe they were different. But her children rose united. They fought and won together. Those dark times only made the bond between her children stronger.

Bharat is not just our homeland - she is our heartbeat.

The writer is a Class XII student at Sacred Heart Sr Sec School Chandigarh