Just over a year ago, I visited India. One of my stops was at the Ranthambore National Park, an old hunting ground of the Maharajas, a large reserve about the size of Malta. One of the gateways looked to be at least 400 years old. It was narrow but high enough for elephants to pass through.
Two tigers stretched out in the sun, just out of the forest, on a jungle track. Magnificent. As were the deer with enormous horns, proudly returning our gaze, the large owl perched on a towering branch, the crocodile that jumped into the lake as we drove past.
The scenery was stunning: overwhelming lakes that reflected the enormous trees, one of which was full of small green parrots.
We spent half an hour admiring a tigress and her three cubs. As we left through the ancient gate, we came across a neighbourhood of monkeys.
The entire safari was a display of the gifts of nature. I did not spot any elephants. But it is of elephants that I think of most when remembering my India visit, in the wake of the terrorist bombings last November.
Elephants, it is said, do not forget. Nor should we. The terrorists sought to destroy what India represents in a globalised world today. Economic promise. A culturally diverse heritage. A culturally cosmopolitan hope.
The terrorists wanted to destabilise India. Instead they have made the world rally round it. We should not forget that there are some concerns about how Indian governments have addressed the Kashmir question.
Above all, however, we should not forget that India represents a living monument to a heritage of cultural diversity, to which Islam and Muslim rulers contributed in an important way.
A Western visitor to Mumbai would be struck by the contrasts. On the one hand, there is the gateway built in honour of a visiting English monarch as well as the train station and University built in typical 19th century English architecture.
On the other hand, there is the public laundry set in a quarry, where hundreds of workers wash linen sheets and leave them to dry in the sun. A remarkable sight.
Similarly, in New Delhi it is not easy to decide what is most stirring. Is it the former residence of the English governor, and now the President's palace? It is astounding: large green lawns on either side; one can just imagine the breathtaking pageantry on official occasions.
Contrasting with this splendour was the final resting place of a saint at once very Indian and at the same time belonging to all of us: Mahatma Gandhi. I willingly took my shoes off to proceed to where he was cremated. Even his last resting place is a tribute to his humility.
The rectangular, black granite, low mausoleum is not more than 10 feet by six feet. Slowly bypassed by those who came to pay their respects I said a small prayer for a man who was bigger than all of us put together.
It would be a mistake to see India simply as having a heritage of contrasts. Its heritage is also one of dialogue and synthesis of civilisations. Some of the high points occurred during the Moghul period, when India was ruled by Muslim emperors.
In Agra, the Red Fort and Taj Mahal are a monument to the period. The Taj Mahal is a complex of open spaces and ochre-coloured buildings and impeccable gardens.
Its most famous palace is larger than one imagines. Built by the king known as Jahan, for his third wife, who died in child birth (their 14th), its proportions and aesthetics are perfect. It is said that the Moghuls wanted to reproduce Heaven as described in the Koran. With the dream-inducing fountains or waterways and with the gardens, well, they certainly got close.
The sense that one beholds a synthesis of Indo-Islamic architecture is confirmed by the architecture's history. Jahan engaged the best craftsmen from all over the empire. His beloved wife's tomb is decorated with intricately laced sculptured marble. The inlay is matt, with a simple design in red and green. I clicked away with my camera but no picture can do it justice.
Indo-Islamic architecture is open and expressive, unlike the image of repression that terrorism conveys. It is a pity, therefore, that this week's news has been that the tension between India and Pakistan is as bad as it has been since 2001. India's Prime Minister has accused Pakistan agencies of supporting the attacks.
It is important to establish the truth behind the November bombings. It is also important not to forget history, however, which in India provides us with literally a monumental vision of what civilisations at ease with each other can produce. Our thoughts about India should have gateways large enough for elephants with a historical memory.
Dr Attard Montalto is a Labour member of the European Parliament.