Warmest greetings on the 61st anniversary of Indian Independence. Congratulations also to Abhinav Bindra, who gave the nation an early Independence Day gift in the form of a Gold Medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. This was the first gold medal won by India since Moscow 1980 and the first Individual Gold medal won by India.
Today as we celebrate our freedom, we pay homage to our great national leaders, valiant freedom fighters, men and women, who made many sacrifices, including of their lives to liberate India from colonial rule. Tomorrow is an occasion to recall that under the inspiring leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, our freedom struggle was fought and won on the noble principles of truth and non-violence, making it a unique movement in the history of nations. Indeed, Gandhi's words echoed later on in the 20th century, when Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King both used his methods for their respective battles.
As we celebrate our unique day, we remember Nehru's speech on the eve of Independence. "A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment, we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity"
The complete history of our freedom struggle is not just symbolized by a "fakir" (Winston Churchill's description of Gandhi), or a "terrorist" (British Raj's description of Netaji and Bhagat Singh), it is epitomized by a will of the people. To that generation of men, women and children who were subject to draconian laws, who went to jail, faced police torture, we are forever indebted. At one point in time, "free India" was just a dream. It had to be spoken in a whisper, anything greater and it would vanish into thin air. The Declaration of Independence by 13 American states say thus:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future securityThese words reverberated within our forefathers and events from 1857 strengthened that dream, and finally in 1945, it grew so loud that people were forced to listen, and after listening were forced to agree.
61 years on, as we look back, we must ask ourselves two pertinent questions. Where have we come? Where are we going? Would those men and women, who died to rid us of oppression, would they be satisfied at the progress we have made? Or would they once again, prepare for a new andolan?
A nation, which had once been described as "a functioning anarchy" by noted economist JK Galbraith, is now being showered with the choicest of praises. Yet, as we look through these phrases, we see that there is more to be achieved. Where we create the largest amount of millionaires per capita we consistently rank at the bottom half of the UNDI (UN Development Index). Where we have the largest middle-class in the world, we are also home to the largest levels of illiteracy. Where we have world renowned institutions such as IISc, TIFR, IIT, we also have children who study in woefully inadequate classrooms. Where we have a Muslim President administering the oath to a Sikh PM belonging to a party headed by a Roman Catholic to serve a population of 800 million Hindus, we have at the very same time, politicians claiming to decide who will be allowed to reside in a particular state and the means by which they shall reside.
We have, for long enough, put up with policies which while claiming to provide social equality, strips our countrymen of their very identity. We have for long enough, put up with voices who seek to divide us. To use Barrack Obama's words, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. I say to them, there is not a BJP India or a Congress India, there is the Republic of India. There is not a North India, a South India, a North-East India, there is the Republic of India. There is not a Hindu India, a Muslim India, a Sikh India, there is the Republic of India. There are people also seek to fragment our states, by drawing Saffron states and White States, Saffron for the NDA/BJP and White for the UPA/INC. I have news for them too. We say "Id Mubarak" in the Saffron states, and we celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi in the White States with equal fervour. We fill up Right To Information applications in the Saffron states and we support those who are less fortunate than us in the White States. We celebrate the success of Irfan Khan Pathan in the Saffron states and we reminisce the works of Vijay Tendulkar in the White states. We are immensely saddened when terror hits the Saffron states, and we are relieved when a terrorist is sentenced to death in the White states. We are all one, pledging allegiance to the Republic of India and the ideals to which it stands for.
In finishing, we are standing at the precipice of an unheralded moment in history. Already, the media is filling us with the optimism that this century will be known as the Asian Century, and there are parallels being drawn with the "Indian Elephant" and the "Chinese Dragon". As we begin the 62nd year of Independence, let us recall the facts. We have around 250-300 million people between the ages of 15-35. That includes many of you as well. This population is more than ten times the entire population of Australia and comparable with the population of the United States. Which power on earth can stop us if we all decide to achieve to the best of our abilities? For far too long now, India has been spoken of as "getting there" and an "emerging superpower". When shall we "get there" and be "a Superpower". I don't know about you all, but I want it to be in my lifetime. Else, the debt that I owe to those who fought for a free India, will be a "promissory note returned marked insufficient funds".
Swami Vivekananda once said "Give me a few young men, and I shall change the face of this nation". I am putting my hand up now, anyone willing to join me?
Jai Hind!!!
