Tryst with Destiny

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In 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru gave his speech “Tryst with Testiny” at Parliament House in New Delhi.

“ Tryst with Destiny ” is the title of a famous speech by Jawaharlal Nehru , India's first prime minister. The speech was given on August 14, 1947 at midnight in front of the Constituent Assembly of India in New Delhi. With this speech, Nehru wanted to attach great importance to world peace and the well-being of humanity and it is considered one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century.

Emergence

After the Second World War , the independence movement gained considerable popularity. Resistance to British colonial rule led to independence in 1947, which was negotiated within a few weeks under the last Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten . On August 14, 1947, Nehru declared that India's “appointment with destiny” had finally come and the development of the world's most populous democracy was picking up. Two days after independence was proclaimed, the country was divided into India (Hindu majority) and West and East Pakistan (today: Bangladesh) with a Muslim majority.

speech

"Many years ago we made an appointment with Fate, and now the time has come when we keep our promise, not in whole or in full, but essentially."

- Speeches that changed our world. With an introduction by Simon Sebag Montefiore.

Nehru begins with a promise for freedom that is “not fully or fully” kept. So that my Nehru have a division.

After the clock strikes midnight, he says India will awaken to life and freedom. It is a rare moment in history when India emerges from the old into something new. For Nehru an age had come to an end and the long suppressed soul of India by British colonial rule finally found its expression. He assured India and its people and humanity to serve with dedication. India had been on an endless path from the beginning, and countless centuries were filled with its pursuit and the magnitude of its successes as well as its failures. He stressed that that day would put an end to the bad times.

He described the independence it had achieved as an opportunity India awaited. But Nehru also asserted that freedom and power come with great responsibility and that this gathering forms the basis for it. Up to this day India had to suffer great pain, which has remained with the people as heavy memories or is still ongoing. The persistent pain represented in Nehru's speech the grievances between Hindus and Muslims. Nevertheless, Nehru called for the past to be left behind, because the future was imminent for India's people.

He emphasized that the future stands for the ceaseless striving to finally fulfill the vows that we have taken together and to serve those who suffer. He wanted to put an end to poverty and ignorance, illness and inequality of opportunity. Nehru spoke of the "greatest man of our generation", who should take grief from people and fight suffering until the end. He was referring to Gandhi here .

Nehru claimed it was a long, hard road to make her dreams come true, dedicated to both India and the world. Because peace and prosperity cannot be divided due to the numerous close relationships between nations. This also applies to disasters that can no longer be viewed independently of one another.

"We call on the Indian people, whose representatives we are, to dare to embark on this great adventure with us in faith and confidence."

- Michael Bischoff, Sebag Montefiore : Speeches that changed our world.

Finally, Nehru urges all of India to approach this new chapter in history, to leave behind evil will and to pursue the goal of building a free India.

Media reception

Nehru's speech became world famous and is one of the speeches that changed the world. His speech was picked up in 1997 on India's 50th anniversary of independence in many places. German media such as the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung reported on the anniversary celebration on August 14, 1997 in Parliament in New Delhi, at which the recording of Jawaharlal Nehru's independence speech was played. The then President Narayanan stressed that Nehru's goals at the time were still not being achieved and emphasized overcoming poverty and fighting disease. The report of the Zürcher Zeitung from August 20th. 1996 reported that tensions and poverty in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh would tarnish the 50th anniversary due to the ongoing underdevelopment of health, nutrition, education and per capita income in the UN Human Development Index . The Lausitzer Rundschau also wrote of an "anniversary with a mixed balance" and the potential for conflict through ethnic and religious diversity.

Even 10 years later, the speech was again put into a negative context by the German newspaper Der Bund in an article on August 16, 2007. The promises such as inequality of opportunity and the end of poverty, which were made in 1947, are still open and are responsible for the grievances and underground movements. The 60th anniversary of India's independence was also reported in Austrian newspapers. The press reported on August 13, 2007, referring to the speech about India's years of stagnation and its predicted rise to world power.

The article published by The New York Times in 2016 sheds light on the division of India and its consequences after the Declaration of Independence. Nehru's words would have fulfilled the reason for the speech, but they had had little effect on site due to recurring unrest. For many millions of people on today's subcontinent, all the promises connected with independence remained unfulfilled.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Krishnamurti, Sailaja: Constructing "The Glorious Heritage of India": Popular Culture and Nationalist Ideology in Indian Biographical Comics . In: Gabrielle Eva Marie Zezulka-Mailloux, James Gifford (eds.): Culture & the State: Nationalisms . CRC Humanities Studio, Edmonton 2003, ISBN 1-55195-147-9 , pp. 112-125 .
  2. ^ Sanjay Chaturvedi: Rise and decline of Antarctica in Nehru's geopolitical vision: challenges and opportunities of the 1950s . In: The Polar Journal . tape 3 , no. 2 , December 2013, ISSN  2154-896X , p. 301-315 , doi : 10.1080 / 2154896X.2013.868087 ( tandfonline.com [accessed August 23, 2019]).
  3. ^ Great speeches of the 20th century. In: The Guardian. May 1, 2007, accessed on August 23, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b c Michael Bischoff, Sebag Montefiore. Speeches that changed our world. 1st edition. Insel Verlag, Berlin 2015, p. 155 f.
  5. ↑ a b c The 'Tryst With Destiny' Speech That Divided India and Pakistan . In: The New York Times . August 14, 2016, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed September 7, 2019]).
  6. ^ Thomas R. Metcalf, Barbara Daly Metcalf: A concise history of modern India. 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press, New York 2006, ISBN 0-511-24698-6 .
  7. ↑ Michael Bischoff, Simon Sebag Montefiore: Speeches that changed our world. With an introduction by Simon Sebag Montefiore. 1st edition. Insel Verlag, Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-458-36468-9 , pp. 157 f .
  8. ↑ a b c The story of our independence: 'Tryst With Destiny' speech. August 8, 2015, accessed September 7, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Michael Bischoff, Sebag Montefiore. Speeches that changed our world. 1st edition. Insel Verlag, Berlin 2015, p. 158.
  10. ↑ Anniversary / Terror casts shadows on the independence celebrations. At least seven dead in India - Pakistani Prime Minister affirms Kashmiri claim. In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung. August 15, 1997, accessed September 7, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Prime Minister Gujral roused his compatriots at the independence celebrations. India wants to fight corruption. Initiative for the children announced. A terrorist attack in Assam, killing two in Pakistan. In: Nürnberger Nachrichten. August 18, 1997, accessed September 7, 2019 .
  12. ↑ No festive mood in India and Pakistan Tension and poverty overshadow the 50-year jubilees . In: Neue Zuercher Zeitung . August 20, 1996, p. 3 ( wiso-net.de ).
  13. ↑ An anniversary with a mixed balance India is celebrating its 50th anniversary / Much conflict due to ethnic and religious diversity . In: Lausitzer Rundschau . August 15, 1997, p. 3 ( wiso-net.de ).
  14. ↑ Dangerous twin birth. Der Bund, August 16, 2007, accessed on September 7, 2019 .
  15. ↑ The rise of India to a world power. Die Presse, August 13, 2007, p. 1 , accessed on September 7, 2019 .