"What struck me during the conversation was that India is a country which recognises the importance of religion and people of faith. India is an amazing country. People belonging to different religions are so proud to be Indians. Nationalism is equally important as religion", Bush told reporters after a 30-minute meeting with nine leaders representing various religions.
"I am proud to be in India. It is a fantastic country", he said after the meeting at which religious leaders stressed on the underlying unity among different communities in the country.
The visiting dignitary, who was accompanied by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and US Ambassador to India David Mulford and some officials, also expessed admiraton for the inter-faith dialogue process in India.
Swami Agnivesh, Acharya Srivatsa Goswami, James Massey, Dominic Emmanuel, Syed Ammar Rizvi, Syed Zafar Mahmood, Dobbom Tulku, former Rajya Sabha Member L M Singhvi and former Chairman of the National Minorities Commission Tarlochan Singh were among those who represented different religions at the meeting.
