As modern, democratic India turns 75, it is indeed a time for celebration and introspection
Addressing the historic session of the Constituent Assembly on the night of 14-15 August 1947, at the cusp of India’s independence, Jawaharlal Nehru voiced the yearning of millions of Indians when, in his matchless eloquence, he declared: “Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge…At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom”.
In what’s considered to be one of the finest speeches of the last century, Nehru also voiced the aspiration of Gandhiji, that their work would not be over till they wiped “every tear from every eye,” adding “this is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill-will or blaming others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell.”
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