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Great Speeches

Tamil people do not bow in shame, nor lower their head in defeat: M Karunanidhi on Tamil pride

On 15 September 1986, the DMK stalwart delivered a stirring address in Chennai, weaving poetry with politics, defending Tamil cultural heritage while reflecting on electoral defeats with unwavering pride.

Why public intellectuals don’t confront authority today: Romila Thapar

On 26 October 2014, professor Romila Thapar delivered the Third Nikhil Chakravartty Memorial lecture, reflecting on the eroding space for public intellectuals in India.

No place for armed liberation struggle in a democracy: P Chidambaram on Left-wing extremism

On 14 September 2009, then-home minister P Chidambaram spoke to senior police chiefs in New Delhi, outlining internal security threats such as Naxalism and insurgencies.

If Pakistan doesn’t halt aggression, India may be compelled to enter Pakistan: VK Menon at UN

On 23-24 January 1957, VK Krishna Menon delivered a historic speech at UN Security Council defending India’s position on Kashmir.

Pakistan knows cost of hostility. Our govt won’t tolerate incursion: Vajpayee during Kargil War

In May 1999, Pakistani troops crossed the Line of Control in Kargil, occupying strategic heights. On 7 June 1999, then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee addressed the nation, condemning Pakistan’s invasion and rallying India to defend its borders.

‘Count OBCs or face our anger’: Gopinath Munde’s caste census demand in 2010 Lok Sabha

On 6 May 2010, BJP leader Gopinath Munde warned that not counting OBCs in the caste census would mean denying social justice to more than half the country for another decade.

India produced scholars, scientists. Pakistan, what did you produce? Terrorists: Sushma Swaraj

On 23 September 2017, then-Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj delivered a powerful rebuke to Pakistan during her address at the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Away with Brahmin school-masters, we need schools for Shudras: Jyotirao Phule

In his powerful deposition before the Hunter Commission in 1881, Jyotirao Phule urged the British government to open its eyes to a 'pernicious system of high-class education.'

Delimitation is secondary. First, avoid tyranny of majority & don’t waste votes: K Rama Rao

On 22 December 1952, during a debate on the Delimitation Commission Bill in Rajya Sabha, legislator and freedom fighter K Rama Rao criticised India's electoral representation structure and called for deeper reforms.

Nothing like deviation in democracy. Even Lenin & Stalin adapted: Lal Bahadur Shastri

On 18 September 1964, during a no-confidence motion against his government, India’s former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri strongly reaffirmed the principles of democracy.

On Camera

Skin cancer is no more an ‘old person’s disease’

The sun isn’t acting alone—it has an accomplice in pollution. Environmental toxins weaken our skin’s natural barrier.

Market regulator SEBI clears Adani Group of impropriety alleged by Hindenburg Research

SEBI probe concluded that purported loans and fund transfers were paid back in full and did not amount to deceptive market practices or unreported related party transactions.

60 yrs on, veterans recall lessons from 1965 India-Pakistan war. ‘Equipment alone doesn’t win battles’

A common thread runs through the memories of soldiers of the 1965 war—ingenuity, courage and camaraderie that withstood an apparently technologically superior foe.

India doesn’t give walkovers to Pakistan in war. Here’s why it shouldn’t do it in cricket either

Many really smart people now share the position that playing cricket with Pakistan is politically, strategically and morally wrong. It is just a poor appreciation of competitive sport.