Dear India, you may now please take a bow!

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Can you imagine a country that added 200000 crippled children each year? Little children. Under 5 years of age. Those who just wanted to spend their time in play and run and squeal with laughter. And couldn't.

And when they grew up - couldn't walk to school. Couldn't get any jobs. Couldn't marry. Couldn't move out of their villages.

Yes, that was our country a few years ago. A very painful sight. And yet, today, I am pleasantly surprised.

13th Jan 2011 was when we last sighted a polio case in our country. Two-year-old Rukhsaar still lives with it in Howrah, West Bengal. Unfortunate, but fortunately the last.

On 13th Jan 2012, India has completed its first ever polio free year. Millions of people in India and around the world have waited with baited breath to just be able to say it out and loud. The polio virus has indeed been interrupted in India. And with it, a huge health burden has been lifted off the world.

Consider this.

In 2006, India carried 66 per cent of the global polio burden.

If progress hadn't been made, the brand- 'India-the land of snakes' would have by now been replaced by brand 'India-the land of crippled'.

It was an uphill, daunting task. But some men - like the the Govt of India's 24 lakh health workers, 1 lakh and 50 thousand field workers and supervisors, international watchdogs - just some men you see- kept at it.

In 2009, India carried 46 per cent of the global polio burden.

Still, a tiresome and trying task. Children still getting crippled. If the world had polio endemic countries to deal with, India had polio endemic states to worry about - UP, Bihar and West Bengal - the hot spots where the polio virus was rampant.

But no one ever gave up. A thousand crore rupees were spent every year to fight back the virus. The field workers travelled, walked, sailed - did whatever it takes - to reach that last child. An effort was made to improve basic sanitation and hygiene in villages. Villagers were taught hand washing practices. In Bihar, health workers started holding polio camps in mandirs. In the name of the god, they said, save your child from polio.

In 2010, India carried only 3 per cent of the global polio burden.

A bivalent polio vaccine was launched earlier in the year. There are two strains of polio that crippled our country. Children in India started getting vaccination against both.

Eyebrows were raised. My interest perked. Sceptical but I did a story. Comparing notes and statistics. Which polio strain has gone down? Well, it sounds good...but could be an 'off year' you know...but the vaccine seems to be working...

In 2011, India carried less than 1 per cent of the global polio burden.

My, my, but I sat up. People around me were talking. People around health journalists that is...public health experts, doctors, international watchdogs, folks from the health ministry, health workers...

On 24th of Oct, World polio day in 2011, most were praying, and some of us had our fingers crossed.

In 2012 - 13th of the Jan - it was a win called 365! I mean, we completed an entire year without reporting a single polio case. As a health journalist, it feels so good to report good news!

And I can see that people around me are beaming today. After all it was a lot of hard work. India had to take up a massive immunisation programme - 17 crore children vaccinated every year - to which 2.3 crore new babies are added every year. And put in mountains of money, logistics and may I add, priceless commitment. Reaching out to the migrant population, nomadic population, fighting the cultural barriers. Tackling states with undernourished and malnourished children with low immunity levels in kids, perfect favouring factors for the polio virus. Tackling villages that had no supply of clean drinking water. And then tackling the risk of importation from neighbouring countries like Pakistan which is still endemic. A polio virus from Pakistan by the way had re-infected China last year.

We tackled all that and more. The govt is proud to present their emergency prepared plans. They have formed RRTs - rapid response teams - to immediately tackle polio cases if any in future.

The international watchdogs like the UNICEF are patting India's back - the trust they put in us has reaped returns. The World Health Organization today went ahead to say, "It was thought that India would be the last country to eradicate polio...but look where we are today. India has pre-performed. The other countries must learn from the India-experience."

Other countries like Pakistan, Afganistan and Nigeria - still polio endemic, still a threat to the other countries - for they might export the polio virus across borders. Just like India exported polio virus to Kazakhstan and Russia a few years ago, infecting people there. But today, we stop being a threat to the world.

We will still have to report zero polio cases for the next two years before we are declared a polio-free country. If all the samples from this January turn out to be negative, the World Health organization will strike India off the endemic countries' list. It is still a long way to go, I agree. And it would be a nervous ride ahead. Expectations, hopes are riding at their highest leves.

But tonight I'd say, it is time to celebrate. To every person involved in winning this battle, in whichever way, big or small, I'd say congratulations on your hard work. I'd say this thank you for saving India's children and securing their future. So they can play, run and squeal with laughter.

I'd say - Dear India - you may now please take a bow!