" Anand was on tour in a distant village when the shattering news of the Chinese invasion was announced. Within hours, there was an astonishing metamorphosis in the prevailing atmosphere. Except for the lone troubled voice that came from the radio, there was a numbed silence all around. Every citizen was in the grip of an indescribable mixture of anger, anguish, a sense of disappointment, and above all, a feeling of unity with every other Indian.

Just when Anand was about to leave, a lad of about ten came forward. He put his hand in his shirt pocket and produced a twenty-five paise coin. He held it out tentatively and stammered, "This is my contribution to defeat China..."
Anand accepted the coin and hugged the boy. He controlled his emotion with some difficulty.

The gesture electrified the atmosphere. For the first time faces brightened somewhat. "Why not raise a fund in the village?", said the Sarpanch.
"Yes!" interjected the villagers. "We must give and give and give until it hurts! Each a little more than he can afford to."

God! Does this country need the threat of external aggression to unite it internally? wondered Anand, as his car turned into the highway. "

― P.V. Narasimha Rao , The Insider