I greet all of you on the occasion of the 51st Anniversary of our country’s Independence. Half a century has passed still it appears as if it happened yesterday. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had unfurled our beloved tricolour in the blue sky from this very spot for the first time. Since then it has been a tradition to unfurl the National flag from the historic Red Fort. I had never imagined that I shall have this good fortune one day. It is a symbol of strength and potential of Indian democracy that the son of a school teacher hailing from the dusty and smoky environs of a village has the privilege of unfurling the national tricolour from the ramparts of Red Fort on this auspicious Independence Day.
We all know that independence did not come to us easily. On the one hand, while tens of thousands of our countrymen and women suffered in jails during the non-violent freedom struggle under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, on the other hand, thousands of revolutionaries sacrificed their lives on the gallows. We owe our independence to these known and unknown martyrs and freedom fighters. Let all of us together pay homage to them and take a pledge that we shall defend our freedom, even if we have to sacrifice everything for this.
Our country has been subjected to foreign aggression. In this short period of 50 years, we had to face four aggressions. But we have safeguarded our independence and integrity. The highest credit for this undoubtedly goes to our soldiers. Away from their homes and dear ones, braving dangers all the time, they guard our frontiers day and night. This is why we are always reassured about our security. Be it the snowy expanse of Siachen with minus 32 degree Celsius temperature or the thick forests of the North-East, the deserts of Kutch or Jaisalmer or the deep waters of the Indian Ocean our troops are vigilant everywhere. On our behalf I greet all these troops of the Army, the Air Force and the Navy and other security personnel. While congratulating them we must say, O! Brave Soldiers, we are proud of you!
The Forces need our support. Our farmers and labour force have strengthened the second line of defence in the farms, the barns and the factories. We can never forget this. Lal Bahadur Shastri had said: Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan One is incomplete without the other, unfulfilled without the other. I have added a new aspect to this: Jai Vigyan!
We can neither develop nor defend the country in the 21st century with the resources of the past century. We have to modernise our forces to enable them to face danger and safeguard our independence and integrity. With only this aim, we conducted the nuclear tests on the 11th and 13th of May this year. The tests of Pokhran were not the efforts of just one night. They were the results of years of hard work on the part of our scientists, engineers, technicians and the defence forces. I have only tried to further the work, the credit for whose foundation goes to Smt. Indira Gandhi. I was only a means. The credit for this great achievement goes to our talented scientists and the hard work of our defence forces. I wish to heartily congratulate all of them on this auspicious occasion of this Independence Day.
I am even grateful to all of you for extending your full support in this trying hour. With a few exceptions every Indian, wherever he may be living, has welcomed this step. Holding our head high that day we proudly proclaimed we are Indians. For that day in Pokhran, the might of the Nation manifested itself along with nuclear energy.
I wish to make it clear right now that India has always been an ardent advocate of peace and will always remain so. We know and want to see weapons for self-defence only. We would never use atomic weapons for attacking anyone. Hence, we have put a self-moratorium on any new nuclear tests. We ourselves proclaimed to the world that we shall never be the first user of atomic weapons. We are doing it neither under pressure nor fear of any one. We are doing it voluntarily because of our firm belief in world peace and disarmament. Our dream is to see the world free from nuclear weapons and we want to see this dream come true. Initially, some countries did not appreciate our national security policy needs and doubted our intention. Some of them imposed economic sanctions against us. But now the situation is changing. The world is gradually appreciating the Indian viewpoint. We have been able to make them understand our position. As a result, some of the sanctions have begun to ease. We welcome this changing global attitude.
However, we also want to make one point clear. India is a great country and its people are powerful. The brave people of our country are always ready to face any danger to defend their honour. Our history bears testimony to this. No force on earth can deflect us from our chosen path. I am saying this not out of arrogance but with humility and self-confidence. We are willing to make any sacrifice to uphold the unity, integrity and sovereignty of our country. We wish to improve relations with our neighbours. We know that the easiest way to win a war is not to let it happen. We are ready to hold talks with Pakistan on any subject, at any level and at any time.
You all know that I have taken the initiative during the SAARC Conference in Colombo. I am somewhat unhappy that we did not get the desired response. Still I have not given up. I will make another effort at reviving the dialogue during the Conference of the Non-Aligned countries in South Africa at the end of this month.
I believe that all problems of the world can be solved through talks. Therefore whether it is Pakistan or China, we will endeavour to solve our mutual problems through friendly talks. In the last few days terrorist activities have increased in Jammu and Kashmir. The massacre in Himachal Pradesh appears to be part of a bigger conspiracy. Such terrorist activities everyday, from across the border, are like a proxy war. The government has taken these incidents very seriously. We are facing them with all our might and we will not rest until we have defeated them.
Whether in personal or national life, the 51st anniversary is always a golden opportunity to assess the past fifty years. It is also the time for retrospection and preparation for a leap into the 21st century. While making an assessment we most often commit mistakes, tend to undertake our achievements and magnify our shortcomings which result in gloom.
Sometimes, I see a growing tendency of pessimism in the country. There may have been aberrations here and there but things have not gone that bad so as to defy solutions. Our scriptures say that only fools indulge in self-praise. But unnecessary self-condemnation is also like suicide. I want a realistic assessment of the last fifty years to be undertaken.
When we attained Independence, some Western experts had forecast that we were unfit for being a democracy and did not deserve freedom. They said we would soon disintegrate. But, today, we can say with pride that we have not only safeguarded our integrity and independence but have also shown to the world how the biggest democracy can be governed. Almost all the countries which gained freedom along with us have kept the democratic tradition alive. This is our 12th Lok Sabha and I am the 11th Prime Minister of India. We have seen over the years transformations taking place from the tiniest village Panchayat to the Parliament. You all deserve credit for this. Your political maturity in all these elections have baffled political pundits. I congratulate you for this. Our democracy is safe as long as you remain vigilant.
On the occasion of the golden jubilee celebrations of our Independence, the nation has to address the important fact that independence, national integration, democracy, and secularism are complementary to each other.
We have to remain independent under all circumstances. An essential condition for this is national unity. Democracy is necessary for national unity. Secularism and democracy are inseparable parts of national unity. I and my government are committed to all these four elements.
We oppose communalism in any form. We will ensure full security of the minorities and guarantee their participation in development. We should never forget that we are the citizens of one country. The boundaries of this country extend from Ladakh to Nicobar, from Garo Hills to Gilgit. Ours is a country whose civilisation and culture is more than five thousand years old. Such a big country replete with varieties of language, faith, living and food habits has resolved to achieve social and economic justice within the framework of democracy. Simultaneously, we cannot forget that we have to strive to rid this democracy of aberrations. Our legislators behave in such a way in legislatures that even a school teacher would not tolerate a system of governance through free debate. The opposition has the right to criticise and the government has the right to implement. The opposition and the government are complementary to each other, they are not adversaries.
Fearless and impartial voting has to be further strengthened. The electoral system has to be reformed to free it from casteism, violence, money power and other ills so that in the next century our system of governance is further refined.
This is part of ThePrint’s Great Speeches series. It features speeches and debates that shaped modern India.