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Great Speeches

We want heart unity, not paper unity that will break under the slightest strain: Sardar Patel

In 1931, Vallabhbhai Patel delivered his presidential address at the Karachi Congress Session, stating that communal unity was essential for India and required courage from Hindus.

For the fundamentalist, secular is dirtiest of dirty words: Rushdie on The Satanic Verses fatwa

In February 1993, Salman Rushdie addressed an audience at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge University, marking the fourth anniversary of the 1989 fatwa issued against him following the publication of The Satanic Verses.

A warped, tragic reincarnation of Hinduism calls itself nationalism: Rajmohan Gandhi

On 12 September 1991, during a debate on the Places of Worship (Special Provisions Bill) in the Rajya Sabha, Rajmohan Gandhi warned that those seeking to right the wrongs of history will only produce destruction.

I like Hindutva of Vivekananda, not the one based on narrow-mindedness: Atal Bihari Vajpayee

On 30 April 2002, PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke in the Lok Sabha during a debate on the administration's failure to ensure the security of the minority community in India, particularly in Gujarat.

What clothes we wear is unimportant. What is important is how we are thinking: Indira Gandhi

On 23 November 1974, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi delivered a speech at the Indraprastha College for Women in New Dehli, highlighting what educated women can and should do.

I guarantee 100% defeat: Sam Manekshaw to Indira Gandhi when she pushed for war with Pakistan

In November 1998, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw delivered a lecture on leadership at the St Xavier's College, Bombay.

Election Commission can’t be a kingdom within a kingdom; it needs central oversight: KM Munshi

On 16 June 1949, KM Munshi argued in the Constituent Assembly that the election commission must balance independence with central oversight to ensure impartiality and practicality.

Don’t make people endure marriage. Not allowing divorce in Indian law is cruel: Hiren Mukherjee

On 17 September 1954, during a debate on the Special Marriage Bill, CPI MP Hirendranath Mukherjee argued that marriage as an institution must evolve to reflect human dignity and compassion.

Communism’s language is of violence, its thought is violent: Nehru

On 15 August 1958, the AICC’s Economic Review published an article by Jawaharlal Nehru titled 'The Basic Approach', in which he discussed how communism’s approach conflicted with the ideals promoted by Gandhi.

Neither retaliation nor revenge—Sardar Patel’s appeal for peace after Partition violence

On 12 September 1947, deputy PM Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the nation 'with a heavy heart and in obedience to the call of duty' to call for an end to the communal violence and unspeakable brutalities.

On Camera

Postcards from Hyderabad—stories Europeans told about the city

For all their colonial underpinnings, postcards from Hyderabad also inadvertently preserve a trace of local memory: a glimpse of a street, a face, a forgotten name.

Navigating Trump’s tariffs is no child’s play. Indian toymakers are losing out on orders, enquiries

Indian toymakers are now exploring new markets, but they want govt to negotiate a trade deal with US soon, introduce incentives and subsidies to make the industry more competitive.

What is Project Sudarshan Chakra, announced by Modi from ramparts of Red Fort

The project is meant to be a ‘protective shield that will keep expanding’, the PM said. It is on the lines of the ‘Golden Dome’ announced by Trump, it is learnt.

War of IAF, PAF doctrines: As Pakistan obsesses over numbers, India embraces risk, wins

Now that both IAF and PAF have made formal claims of having shot down the other’s aircraft in the 87-hour war in May, we can ask a larger question: do such numbers really matter?