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Hi friends. I’ve just finished reading this book titled ‘India’s Greatest Speeches’ compiled by Nitin Agarwal. The publisher of this book is Grapevine India Publishers Ltd. The title was published in 2014, but it got to my hands late. The price of this book is Rs 195. It comprises 325 pages. Most of these speeches are available in the archives. Yet, I would say Nitin has done a good job of providing them in a readymade platter.  The selection of speeches and the introduction of the personality before each speech is also quite absorbing. At times, we feel we know a celebrity quite well, but when you start reading about them, you feel otherwise.

Overall, it’s a stimulating collection of thoughtful speeches delivered by some of the most prominent personalities of India. But then, one viewpoint could be, why read these speeches at all? What do you gain from them? Well, let me tell you. Behind every speech lies the covert and overt accomplishment of the personality. Rather, the essence of an orator’s personality, which knowingly or unknowingly, directly or indirectly comes out for the betterment of the common man. There is a verse in the Gita that says, ‘Masses follow the classes.’ Moreover, speeches often silhouette the inveterate mindset of the orator. It, at times, even doubles up as a mini biography of the personality.

Set to inspire, the book includes some of the most stirring and eloquent addresses by Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Mother Teresa, JRD Tata, Abdul Kalam, Narendra Modi and many other influential Indian leaders.

The book starts with a short insight from the Bhagavad Gita. It then goes on to cover twenty-five speeches of 23 cynosure personalities of India. One will find a good amount of historical perspective in some of the speeches. Almost all speeches are loaded with aspects of challenge, failure, success, struggle, decision making, telling tough tales and life lessons and ultimately, the making of those towering personalities.

An interesting pattern that inadvertently emerges from the book is the ground feel of what India and the bigwigs of India were, towards the end of the nineteenth century, when Swami Vivekananda delivered that famous speech in Chicago in 1893. And it extends to almost a decade and a half after independence, say 1965. It also gives you a flavour of how India changed after 1965, because of the altered mindsets of Indian personalities, which included their viewpoints, their values and even their ambitions.

The world today has become extremely complex. Competition has intensified, and struggles have become longer and even tougher. Global perspectives have taken over issues, and nothing is isolated; most things are transparent. The speeches post 1965 in the book reflect that in some way or the other. The collection of speeches extends from 1893 to 2014.

There are two speeches of Mahatma Gandhi delivered in the years 1912 and 1922. When you read these speeches, you get an eerie feeling as to how different India has become since then. Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s famous and daring statement before the Lahore High Court Bench exhibits his jasba … passion for his motherland–India. The narration is a bouquet of important speeches.

In the year 1937, Veer Damodar Savarkar, then president of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, delivered a speech in Karnavati defining Hinduism. There are other master pieces from Tagore in 1941, and Dr Radhakrishnan in 1947. Then you have the famous speeches of Subhas Chandra Bose—Give me Blood and I promise you Freedom, and Nehru’s ‘Tryst with Destiny.’

In the year 1948, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel delivered his famous speech at Calcutta Maidan on the unification of states. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, a very important leader of Jana Sangh (now BJP) in the year 1965, addressed a full house on Integral Humanism.

One is really moved by the humbleness of Mother Teresa when she made that historic speech in 1979 upon the acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, and JRD Tata’s superlative speech in the year 1982 on his Historic Flight Re-enactment, and the famous speech of Mrs Gandhi, her last in 1984, after which she was assassinated.

Who can forget Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s famous 2001 address at the United Nations General Assembly? And, Natayana Murthy, in 2007, during the pre-commencement address at New York University, describing his volatile journey.

There are two Speeches by Prime Minister Modi delivered in 2014, at FICCI Ahmedabad and the Independence Day, that outline India’s future and what he intends to do for the country. The speech of Par excellence Ex-President, APJ Abdul Kalam, in 2011, defining the vision of India, can never be forgotten. It is superb and so very educational.

On the creative side, there is AR Rahman’s 2009 Oscar Awards Acceptance address and Shah Rukh Khan’s famous ‘Courage in Success’ delivered in 2013.

Lifetime Achievement Awards don’t come easy. Everyone knows about the struggle Azim Premji had to undertake to establish his mighty company. His speech on the occasion at the Economic Times Awards in the year 2013 is also in the list of speeches.

And last but not least, the making of the world champions. Sports achievements are one of the toughest, where you start alone, and if you’re not successful, you go into a depression followed by oblivion. There are three wonderful speeches by Viswanathan Anand, 2007, Speech at NIIT Chennai, Abhinav Bindra, 2013, GoSports Foundation Conclave and Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, 2013, A Farewell to Cricket.

Overall, it’s an interesting read if you want to know about these personalities and their tedious journey to success.

The list of speeches:

1. Swami Vivekananda, 1893, The Chicago Address (Opening Day)
2. Mahatma Gandhi, 1912 Banaras Hindu University Speech
3. Mahatma Gandhi, 1922 The Great Trial of 1922
4. Shaheed Bhagat Singh 1930 Statement before the Lahore High Court Bench
5. Veer Damodar Savarkar, 1937 Presidential Address, Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, defining Hinduism.
6. Rabindranath Tagore, 1941, Civilisation’s Crisis, The Last Testament of Tagore
7. Subhas Chandra Bose, 1944, Give Me Blood and I Promise You Freedom
8. Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, 1947, Speech as First Vice-President of India
9. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, 1947, Tryst with Destiny
10. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, 1948, Speech at Calcutta Maidan
11. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, 1965, Lecture on Integral Humanism
12. Mother Teresa, 1979, Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance
13. JRD Tata, 1982, Historic Flight Re-enactment
14. Indira Gandhi, 1984, The Last Speech
15. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 2001, United Nations General Assembly Speech
16. Narayana Murthy, 2007, Pre-commencement address at New York University
17. Viswanathan Anand, 2007, Speech at NIIT, Chennai
18. AR Rahman, 2009, Oscar Awards Acceptance
19. APJ Abdul Kalam, 2011, Vision of India
20. Abhinav Bindra, 2013, GoSports Foundation Conclave
21. Shah Rukh Khan, 2013, Courage in Success
22. Sachin Tendulkar, 2013, A Farewell to Cricket
23. Azim Premji, 2013, Lifetime Achievement Award Acceptance, Economic Times Awards
24. Narendra Modi, 2014, Speech at FICCI, Ahmedabad
25. Narendra Modi, 2014, Independence Day Speech

 Reviewed and written by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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