India, Jan. 10 -- National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Saturday said India must strengthen itself not only at its borders but across all domains, including the economy and social development, to respond to a long history of attacks and subjugation.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue as the guest of honour, Doval told an audience of around 3,000 young delegates from across the country that India's past should serve as a lesson and a source of resolve. Invoking freedom fighters Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh, the 81-year-old former Intelligence Bureau director recalled the sacrifices that led to independence.

"You are lucky that you were born in an independent India. I was...