Republic Day : Redesigning the Nation

the speech I wrote for the Republic day celebrations at NID R & D Campus. Inspired by speeches of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Charlie Chaplin.

The Madras regiment of the Indian Army

“Our Difficulties are not about India’s Ultimate future but, how to make the Heterogeneous mass, that we have today, to take a decision in common and march in a cooperative way, on that path, which will ultimately lead us to Unity”.

These were the statements made by Dr. B. R Ambadekar, the architect, of what to a common man is the doctrine of Free will. The Constution of India. One book which unites all differences that exist in this country. It is this thought of uniting India that is celebrated on the 26th Jan every year. India was declared a Sovereign republic 3 years after her Independence.

At this juncture it is important to understand what a  republic means.

That government where the head of the state is not a Monarch is a Republic.

The constitution of India gave a nascent nation the right to breathe free, a right to think aloud and the birth right of a free nation, a nation that was struggling to find its place. To some it was a boon that marked the start of a new thought, and some believed that it was being over-ambitious,  rejecting the formalized rule set by the British Raj.

Rewriting this doctrine was perhaps the greatest design adventures any Indian could have taken. The difficulties were not with regard to the ultimate ambition but the beginning. India with its diverse sections would require planning at a great scale. A scale none of us can ever imagine.

The constution was the promise of a new nation. A decent nation where a man could work and live a life of old age in security. But, brutes have risen to power and have become dictators. Men who crave only for power, converting the nation into a greed pool. This craving for power has proved to be an enemy of unity which is at the heart of the Indian Constution.

Let us fight for the Nation that the Doctrine promised.  Let us leave behind slogans, words intended to scare people, forgive our internal opponents and find a means so that they are willing to join us, on this path, which if we walk long enough, will lead us to unity.