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Sunday, December 14, 2025
HomeOpinionGreat Speeches

Great Speeches

Will it be India of Buddha, Ashoka, Nehru, or of those who don’t like them: Ramdhari Singh Dinkar

On 20 May 1952, poet and freedom fighter Ramdhari Singh Dinkar delivered his Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha, speaking about India’s future and the importance of unity.

Easier to throw off foreign tyranny than tyranny of elected representative: Nani Palkhivala

In 1971, Nani Palkhivala delivered a speech at the Loyola College in Chennai, where he bitterly criticised the 24th, 25th, and 26th amendments to the Indian Constitution.

When we know how a nation doles out justice, we know its moral character: Ram Jethmalani

On 6 September 2003, eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani delivered the Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture, where he spoke about the the judicial system, stressing on the need for urgent reform.

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.

On Camera

India’s aviation crisis is all about too big to tame

Nobody is safe in a market where competition is stunted and choice limited. For the industry, meaningful reform will have to start with the government itself.

South rising, west slipping: India’s export map is being redrawn, shows RBI data

Data shows re-alignment in India’s exports, with Tamil Nadu & Telangana posting strong growth in 2024-25 as traditional heavyweights Gujarat & Maharashtra see declines. Gujarat still leads, though.

US clears $686-mn package to breathe fresh life into Pakistani F-16s

Of the total package, $649 million will be utilised for additional hardware, software, and support services, and the remaining for Major Defence Equipment (MDE).

India’s top airline just handed sarkar the keys. That’s IndiGo’s real ‘crime’

Don’t blame misfortune. This is colossal incompetence and insensitivity. So bad, heads would have rolled even in the old PSU-era Indian Airlines and Air India.