When we look at our civilisation, its peaks and valleys, we discover what made our freedom struggle succeed. The saga of freedom struggle is a long one. I will not take your time to talk about the freedom struggle, its life and the history which it had passed through. But one thing was very clear. When we look back to those eras, the Gandhian times, we go back to this perception again and again that freedom struggle succeeded primarily because it was deeply rooted in our own soil, in our own civilisation, in our own culture. Gandhian vision, and his sources of inspiration were all indigenous. Gandhian sources of inspiration were not alien. They were not imported from other countries; they were born here.
When Gandhiji talked, again and again, of dharma; dharma, being the basic root of Indian freedom struggle, was something which really brought to our minds and to our struggle a new orientation. Of course, when he talked of dharma he meant something different than religion; he meant something different than cult; he meant something different than, what we commonly call, the Church. He meant dharma in a wider definition. I am one of those who believe, and I think this House also believes, that one word which cannot be translated into any non-Indian language is the word dharma. That was where Gandhi went home.
Gandhiji never tried to build a cult. He never tried to build a math. It was basically an approach that was based on compassion more than anything else. In this, when we look back at Gandhiji, his perceptions, his vision, his way of conducting things more and more, an idea comes to my mind, and that is, his compassion often reminded me of the Great Buddha. To me, he brought continuity of that compassion which Buddha spelt out for the whole world. Very often, the ideas and ideals that were originally in Gandhian thinking were so unfamiliar to us. Sometimes they bewildered us and sometimes they gave a new interpretation and a new meaning to those very words. He started thinking differently on one wider scale of the nation.
It was a remarkable thing that Gandhiji used old idioms, old dictums and old words that we have been used to; gave them a new meaning and used them for mobilisation, for mass upsurge. Some people who thought that they were intellectually bright at that time were bewildered. Sometimes they were confused because they were not really prepared to see that old idioms could be given new meanings of the type that Gandhiji was giving them.
Gujral’s vision for India’s future
As our mass upsurge turned into a tide and achieved what it did, the Indian freedom struggle fully appreciated the civilisational unity of India. The main quest of the Indian civilisation always was built on respecting diversities—the vast diversities that we in our lives experienced and continue to experience, different languages, different cultures, different historical experiences, different ways of reaching yet to find a strain where they all join. Gandhiji’s basic contribution was to rediscover the unity of those diversities. This continues to be the benchmark of our nation. This, in these fifty years, we have learnt. We have, again and again, said that our liberation struggle achieved what it did because of this perception. Gandhiji at that time had emphasised one thing, or had emphasised one religion, or had emphasised one way of life, the struggle would never have succeeded; India would never have been unified.
- Unity Through Diversity: Gujral emphasized that India’s strength lies in respecting its diverse languages, cultures, and beliefs, warning that enforcing uniformity could threaten national unity.
- Gandhian Philosophy & Dharma: He highlighted Gandhi’s indigenous vision, using traditional ideas with new meanings to mobilize people, and stressed that dharma in India goes beyond religion.
- Balancing Tradition & Progress: Gujral argued that India must embrace technological and economic advancements while staying rooted in its civilizational values to maintain its unique identity.
- A Vision for the Future: He urged political leaders to reject divisive politics, accommodate differences, and ensure that India remains a global power by blending continuity with change.
Therefore, we must repeat to ourselves, Sir, and with your permission I must submit to the House, that this unity of diversities is the flag that must continue to fly high on the strong mast of Indian liberation. This is the basic thing.
We do mistake in that sometimes. Sometimes we feel that, perhaps, uniformity is more important than unity of diversities. This nation, may I repeat in all humility, will never remain united, will never remain together, if we start trying to cast it in the mould of uniformity. We must respect our languages; we must respect our ways of life; we must respect our religions; we must respect our beliefs; we must respect our historical experiences. Then, and then only will this nation be able to continue to call itself with pride, a nation that is called India.
Indian nation is again a nation of diversities. That is the challenge, if I may say so, for the next 50 years or a century, that is before us. If we are able to recognise this fact, then we do not get lost in the bylanes of trying to emphasise one way of life or one language or one religion, then we will never lose our way. If we do not, that mistake will be very expensive for us. Sometimes political myopia, sometimes expediency of a particular movement, a particular election compulsion, may blind us and may try to emphasise one caste or one religion or one language to get votes. I think, one determination that must emerge from this House today is that we shall never let that happen.
Once we are able to emphasise that we have our diversities which we respect, that we have our different ways of living, that we have our different faiths and therefore, we shall respect each other. We shall not tread on each other’s toes. We shall not try to do things which can possibly hurt the feelings and the emotions of another fellow Indian. We always talk in terms of India first and Indian first. Yes, ‘India first and Indian first’ is a product of this perception and it is a way of life. If we respect each other, if we do not try to break our perceptions, hearts and minds, then India’s future will always be secured. This is the pitfall against which we must guard.
The mantra, if I may say so—I am not a pundit in the sense Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee is—but let me say that the mantra, to my mind, of a great unified India that stands on the threshold of greatness is three-fold: accommodate, tolerate, respect diversities—and also discreetly mix continuity and change. Continuity is important because without continuity there can be stagnation. Our languages, our music, our poetry, our philosophies are all invigorated in the bygone centuries in the past and will continue to do so if we have the capacity to assimilate and adjust.
Years ago, an Urdu poet said:
“Unan-O-Misra-O-Roma
Sab Mit Gaye Jahan Sey
Kuch Baat Hai Ki Hasti
Mitati Nahi Hamari.”
What is that which has preserved us? What is this kuch baat? I hope, we will always keep in mind that this kuch baat is our unification of diversities, respecting the process of assimilation, courage to assimilate, courage to reject what we do not want and the courage to assimilate what helps us. This invigorated our cultures in the past and will continue to do so. And that is why, I feel, this is very important, that we should discover this kuch baat at every stage of our growth—today; yesterday, we did it; tomorrow, we must continue.
To quote Iqbal: “Kuch baat hai ki hasti mitati nahi hamari.”
This is the legacy of our past and this is the challenge for future. This challenge, I think, we have met by continuing to rediscover ourselves, by continuing to interpret ourselves, by continuing to redefine ourselves, by continuing to invigorate ourselves, at the same time, keeping our feet firmly in our soil, in our tradition, in our civilisation.
That is very important. No change, as Nehru used to say, must throw us off our feet. No change must be such that we give up our roots. No change must be such that it takes us away from our civilisation. At the same time, we should have the capacity. Yes, we had in the past to try to imbibe what we think is in our interest. The world today is now standing or has already entered a new era of change—unprecedented, never seen in the history of mankind.
Therefore, now at this stage, we must decide for the future to come. India must decide that in the era of new change of technology, of science, India must occupy a vanguard position, must be standing on the front benches, must stand in the front rows, imbibe new technology because new creativeness must be born out of this.
Out of this new creativity shall India once again be the great India that it has always been.
Therefore, on these new frontiers of sciences, new frontiers of technology, new thoughts must be generated, new ideas must be born and new discoveries must be made. That is how we can also accept the challenge and also use it as our opportunities. Only this alone will facilitate, | repeat alone this one, our courage, our vision, our determination to occupy the front ranks of this change, shall we be able to occupy a position which will facilitate India crossing over the threshold.
India today stands on the threshold of greatness and that greatness is within our reach, within our grasp. We can do it and we must. That is a challenge for the next Century or, if | may say so, for next fifty years.
This is part of ThePrint’s Great Speeches series. It features speeches and debates that shaped modern India.
What a joke from fake news peddler couptaji. This guy who could not even win a municipal election in his village , is preaching all Indians how our civilization should be .
JHAve some shame. Gujra; was a weak faje nobody and a classic khan market wannabee.
A man of gravitas. Not the self deprecatory term he used for himself in a lighter vein. Stood up to Sanjay Gandhi at the height of his powers during the Emergency. When one sees the state of India’s relationships with all South Asian neighbours, think often of the Gujral Doctrine. It makes even more sense now as China’s economic and political influence grows throughout our neighbourhood and Asia.