Twentyfive years ago this week. Jawaharlal Nehru told India it had made "a tryst with destiny" and that the moment had come when India would "step out from the old to the new. when an age ends. and when the soul of a nation. long suppressed. finds utterance." Such a moment came again for another nation this year: Bangladesh. And its "tryst with destiny" came in no small measure from the support of India and its commitment to democratic principle and selfdetermination. Last year. as India strained under the burden of one of the largest refugee movements of modern timesas it sought to aid the victims of one of the bloodiest repressions and civil wars of modern timesI had the honor of joining Prime Minister Indira Gandhi atop the ramparts of Delhis historic Red Fort to honor Indias Independence Day on August 15. and to recognize its humanitarian effort on behalf of the people of East Bengal. For during that crisis India had risen to the task and pledge stated 25 years earlier by Nehru. who noted that "peace is indivisible. so is freedom. so is prosperity now. and so also is disaster in this one world that can no longer be split into isolated fragments." I welcome this opportunity to again honor India on its independence day and for its continued commitment to aid those in need throughout this one world.