Photos: Quotes from Indian Prime Ministers from the ramparts of Red Fort
Updated On Aug 14, 2017 02:58 PM IST
As midnight struck on August 15,1947 Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minster roused a nation with his famous ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech. A look at the quotes of succeeding Prime Ministers since and their message to the Indian nation.
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Occupied for nearly 200 years, India broke free from the shackles of British colonial rule on August 15, 1947. The inheritors of ‘Free India’ faced a nation cleaved by Partition, choosing instead to build the world’s largest secular democracy. As midnight struck on August 15, Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minster roused a nation with his famous ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech. A look at the addresses of succeeding Prime Ministers since and their message to the Indian nation. (HT Photo)
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After the sudden demise of Nehru in 1964, a fortnight later Lal Bahadur Shastri was chosen as the 2nd Prime Minister of India. He is known for the famous slogan, ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ delivered on the occasion of India’s 18th Independence Day. His slogan holds significance as India was recovering after the 1962 war with China and the country was facing a severe drought and food shortage. His words reached the length and breadth of the country and resonated with the masses. (HT Photos)
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In 1977, while addressing the nation Prime Minister Morarji Desai said, ‘You can catch me by the ear when I make a mistake. But do not catch me alone, catch all the colleagues of mine if mistakes are committed. That is the kind of people’s power we want to build.’ He is popularly known for the 44th amendment of the constitution to prevent a state of emergency again in India. (Virendra Prabhakar/HT Photo)
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Charan Singh has been referred to as the ‘champion of India’s peasants’. His speech on Independence Day highlighted the core issues of poverty alleviation, eradicating unemployment and the disparity between the poor and the affluent. ‘To be able to achieve noble objectives, your means should also be equally noble…A country where people are corrupt, will never be able to progress whosoever may be the leader of the party or whatever be the sound programme he might follow.’ (HT Photo)
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Indira Gandhi during her last speech as Prime Minister in 1984 said, ‘My father used to say that freedom cannot be divided. In the same manner, progress is also indivisible, development is also indivisible.’ Amongst her most significant contribution as PM was the Liberation of Bangladesh from East Pakistan. (HT Photo)
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On 15th August 1986, while addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Rajiv Gandhi said : ‘Being an Indian does not mean that we are mere inhabitants of country…We have a diversity of cultures. We belong to different religions- Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Parsis and Buddhists… We accord equal respect to all faiths and religions. Our strength and unity flow from this fact. This is the only path we must follow, for our strength lies in our diversity.’ (Virendra Prabhakar/HT Photo)
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VP Singh during his speech as PM of India in 1990 addressed the nation and implemented the ‘Mandal Commission Report’ with a mandate to identify the socially and educationally backward. It was later met by violence across the nation mostly by the upper castes. In his speech, he said,’ If power in the hands of the rulers could be compared to a sword, it shall act against the exploiters.’ (HT Photo)
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PV Narasimha Rao is best known for the initiation of liberalization. In 1991, with the country on the brink of bankruptcy Rao appointed Manmohan Singh as finance minister and together they carried out several structural reforms that saved the country from an economic shutdown. (SN Sinha./HT Photo)
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Deva Gowda was the first PM to grant 33% reservation to women along with numerous farmers’ schemes that helped farmers across the nation prosper. In his speech he said, ‘I have also lived in a village and have seen the sufferings of rural people from up close. I am a common man and I understand the problems faced by rural folks.’ (HT PHOTO)
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IK Gujral on the 50th anniversary of Independent India appealed to the nation to launch a mass movement against corruption and bureaucracy. In his words,’Our war against corruption is honest. For this, we should build a mass movement, in which all Indians can take part to end corruption in politics, politicians and in public life.’ (S N Sinha/HT Photo)
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‘For us, Kashmir is not a piece of land; it is a test-case of Sarva Dharma Samabhava secularism…. We shall defeat cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. This is our resolve.” Atal Bihari Vajpayee is best known for making India a nuclear power in spite opposition from international communities. Vajpayee also launched one of largest education programs in world – The Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and for successfully carrying out Operation Vijay. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)
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On August 15, 2013, while addressing the nation PM Manmohan Singh said,‘If in the future we can achieve the same kind of progress as in the last decade, the day is not far off when India will be rid of poverty, hunger, disease and ignorance’ (Mohd Zakir/HT Photo)
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