India considers the entire world as a family and therefore, it is obviously affected by oppression and atrocities in any part of it, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday while talking about the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
Indian sensibilities were getting affected by whatever was happening in erstwhile East Pakistan, Mr Singh said after launching a book, titled "Heroes of 1971".
"We felt hurt due to the oppression and torture that was being perpetrated there and the way human rights were being violated," he said.
Not only the people of India, those living in other parts of the world were also affected by what was happening in East Pakistan, the defence minister added.
"People felt that injustice is happening. At that time, India decided that this must be opposed. And therefore, India interfered in the matter," he said.
India's victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war pave the way for the liberation of Bangladesh.
India won the war to safeguard human values and not to rule there, Mr Singh said.
"We did not want to occupy even an inch of land of Pakistan.... It was a just war," he added.
India is the only country in the world that considers as family members not just those living within its boundaries but people living across the world, Mr Singh said.
"Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole word is a family) -- if there is one country that has given this message, it is India," he added.
"India, which considers the entire world as its family, is obviously affected by oppression and atrocities in any part of it," the defence minister said.
Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, India on Tuesday unequivocally condemned the "deeply disturbing" reports of civilian killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha and supported the call for an independent investigation as it underlined that when innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option.
Images and videos of people lying dead on the streets of Bucha, some with their hands tied behind them, have drawn global condemnation and calls for investigation and tougher actions against Russia.
The most decisive war that has ever been fought between India and Pakistan was the one that took place in 1971, Mr Singh said.
He said "Heroes of 1971" will refresh the memories of the war, adding that the country will remain indebted to the soldiers who took part in it.
"We are trying to become self-reliant in the defence sector and as a part of it, we issued the third positive indigenisation list on Thursday," Mr Singh said.
India never had an expansionist agenda and nor will it ever have it, he noted.
"We will not bother anyone, but if anyone bothers us, we will not spare them," he said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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