India has a 7,000-year-old civilization? On October 5, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar stated: “I use the term ‘emerging and middle power’ not because I like it, but because it is how others label us. Perhaps I should step beyond this category and elevate our perspective. India is a nation with a 7,000-year-old civilization. Globally, few countries meet this criterion.”
This rhetorical strategy sounds familiar—first rejecting labels such as “emerging power” or “middle power,” then invoking the “7,000-year-old civilization” to assert historical legitimacy, culminating in an implicit claim that India should be regarded on par with China and the United States. This narrative is not improvised by Jaishankar. It has long been embedded in official Indian diplomatic discourse and institutional narratives, primarily anchored in two archaeological sites: Mehrgarh (in present-day Balochistan, Pakistan), dated to around 7000 BCE and representing an early Neolithic farming settlement; and Bhirrana (in present-day Haryana, India), radiocarbon-dated to between 7500 and 6200 BCE.
The issue remains: does the presence of human settlements equate to a “civilization”?
Why is Jaishankar so eager to discard the “middle power” designation? In fact, over the past six months, he has consistently resisted categorization. At the June G7 summit, Trump directly told Modi, “G2 is the U.S. and China”—a statement that excluded India entirely. In July, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu referred to India as a “small country with 1.4 billion people” during a Fox News interview. For decades, India has positioned itself as a leading global power, second only to the United States. Under these circumstances, Jaishankar’s invocation of a “7,000-year-old civilization” serves less as a scholarly assertion and more as a strategic effort to resist international marginalization. While grounded in archaeological evidence, the argument also involves selective emphasis and amplification.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1878173368428547/
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