If you want to think carefully about what is happening around you, you have to get out of the immediate circle that you are in and think outside the box. I wrote these words when I was in India recently far from the problems of the Middle East and its concerns. People here are concerned with developing life systems that are more positive and are full of values of social solidarity, coexistence and tolerance.

India, which in a few years will become the world’s largest country in terms of population, is poised to become the fourth largest economy in the world, surpassing Germany and after America, China and Japan. Its citizens occupy leading positions in the most important international companies and communities in most parts of the world, working and producing to provide the finest examples of productivity and excellence in all fields. It is the largest democracy in the world and a successful model of a civil state that sponsors laws that protect the rights of all on an equal footing.

Citizenship alone is the basis of belonging; the state has no interest in your religion, sect, tribe, community, region, family, city, language or name.

India has stepped up its fight against intolerance and has succeeded in the midst of enormous challenges, after British colonialism established new borders that had never existed before. This engulfed India in wars with Pakistan and China.

However, India has proceeded to take care of itself and develop its own affairs. Despite its population density and the challenges that come from corruption and extreme poverty, Indians have never starved. The country has self-sufficiency in everything and with increasing quality. Today, there are dozens of very successful examples of trademarks owned by Indians or Indian companies abroad, such as Wipro, Taj, Oberoi, Tata, Mahindra, Bajaj, Gulf Oil, Leyland, Mittal Steel, Bose Audio System, Godrej, Jaguar, Range Rover, Land Rover and others.

India is a country with a very deep and ancient civilization. It has the right to indulge in the past because it has a distinctive and glorious past, but it has decided to focus on building a future for its people so that they can be proud of their country’s past glory. India has dedicated itself to developing education and training to produce distinctive and world-class minds and that has made its most important universities and colleges more difficult to get admitted to than Harvard. India is a miraculous giant molded by the ideal political leadership of the great Gandhi who influenced Martin Luther King and later Mandela and Obama.

In the business world, Pepsi, Google, Nokia, MasterCard and Citibank are all led by Indians.

India, as one of the world’s leading countries, can provide us all with lessons about economic growth and the removal of racism and intolerance.