Scholars who are credited with writing verses in the distant past have mentioned the term Bharathakhanda, meaning the territory of which present India is only a part. Many explorers, particularly the Italian merchant and explorer Marco Polo (1254-1324), Chinese travellers Fa Hien (337-422) and Hiuen Tsang (602-664) are recollected by many public speakers as having written about the region in glorious terms. Having observed the enormous wealth and prosperity of the land and its people, while narrating his experience to his fellow citizens in Europe, Marco Polo is said to have earned the nick name Marco the Millions. Maybe, if he had visited India of our times, he might have highlighted only the millions-side of the land’s population, feeling shy in calling the democracy as a mad house.
However, the other two travellers, both monks, chose to write about the institutions of learning and refinement in the culture of people at large. The reports in dailies covering the 36-hour visit of American President Donald Trump also highlighted his praise for the country’s Prime Minister, glorifying the nation only in the offing. His conducted tour to three locations (Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi) can be seen as a saving grace in the context of millions of Indians contributing unabashedly to the democracy’s downturn on count of harmony among its citizens.
