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Journalism of Courage
Seventy-eight years after Jawaharlal Nehru delivered his historic “Tryst with Destiny” address on the eve of India’s independence, his words continue to resonate far beyond the country’s borders. The speech returned to the spotlight Wednesday when 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani invoked its lines in his victory address as the newly elected mayor of New York.
Mamdani’s invocation of Nehru’s “Tryst with Destiny” speech was immediately rejoiced by Indians everywhere. It was also a possible reminder of the evolving narrative of American politics.
Nehru’s speech is regarded as one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century, as well as a highly studied text in modern Indian political rhetoric and decolonisation studies.
As his biographer, Sarvapalli Gopal, had noted, Nehru coined an “undying phrase”. The speech had stirred immense excitement on the day it was delivered, and its power endures in its continued global relevance today.
‘Tryst with Destiny’ on the eve of India’s Independence
The mood in the country shifted considerably with the announcement made by the Viceroy Lord Mountbatten on August 15, 1947, to be the chosen date for the official transfer of power from the British to India. In the capital city of New Delhi, formal events began shortly before midnight on August 15.
In keeping with the advice from astrologers on the auspiciousness of the occasion, it was decided to begin the celebrations on August 14. A special session of the Constituent Assembly was called at midnight to usher in the dawn of freedom. The ceremony was held in the hall of the erstwhile legislative council of the British Raj.
The proceedings began from 11 pm with the singing of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Vande Mataram, followed by a few minutes of silence in memory of those who lost their lives in the struggle for freedom in India and elsewhere.
Two other speeches preceded Nehru’s iconic moment. First to speak was Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman, who was to represent the Muslims of India. The next was Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who praised the political sagacity and courage of the British who chose to leave India, even while the Dutch held on to their possessions in Indonesia, and the French would not leave Indo-China.
The star of the moment, though, was Nehru. His speech, brimming with emotion and rhetoric, moved all present and every citizen who heard him over the radio.
“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes
when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but
very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world
sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.”
The following words, repeated most recently by Mamdani in his speech, went:
“A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new,
when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds
utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of
dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger
cause of humanity.”
In the verses that followed, Nehru spoke about India emerging from a period of ill fortune and finally discovering herself. He also talked about the future, which was not going to be one of ease or resting, but “incessant striving so that we might fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today.”
He mentioned that it meant that we had to work relentlessly to end poverty, ignorance, disease, and inequality. He urged his fellow citizens to give up on petty criticism, ill will and blaming, and to come together to “build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell.”
He concluded the speech by asking all members of the Constituent Assembly to take a pledge of service to India, so that she may take her rightful place in the world and contribute to world peace and the welfare of mankind.
As he spoke inside the council, the streets outside burst into unshackled rejoice.
Guha, in his book, cited a report by an American journalist who described the excitement. “It was Times Square on New Year’s Eve. More than anyone else, the crowd wanted Nehru,” he wrote.
“Even before he was due to appear, surging thousands had broken through police lines and followed right to the doors of the Assembly building. Finally, the heavy doors were closed to prevent a probable souvenir-hunting tide from sweeping through the chamber. Nehru, whose face reflected his happiness, escaped by a different exit, and after a while, the rest of us went out.”
A speech for many occasions
Nehru’s words left a deep imprint upon the tides of history. It has been quoted by some of the tallest leaders of India and the world ever since.
Among the best-known invocations of the speech are those by the former US president Barack Obama, who quoted its lines on several occasions in the context of his interactions with India or Indians.
On the 63rd Independence Day of India, for Instance, he greeted the people of India from Washington, alluding to the historic speech: “As Indians stood ready to claim their own fate on Aug 15, 1947, Prime Minister Nehru declared that a ‘tryst with destiny’, forged years ago, would finally be fulfilled,” he said.
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, too, has referred to the speech on many occasions.
In November 2015, at a national conference at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies (RGICS) discussing global interdependence, Singh noted, “In his historic’ Tryst with Destiny’ speech delivered at the midnight hour when, in his words, ‘India awoke to life and freedom’, Pandit Nehru said, and I quote, ‘Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom; so is prosperity… and also.. disaster — in this one world that can no longer be split into isolated fragments.”
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has also referenced the speech in international events to highlight Nehru’s ideas of internationalism and the interconnectedness of the world. In a 2009 speech, Tharoor, then serving as the minister of state for external affairs, began by reminding the audience of Nehru’s powerful words.
“At that midnight hour when, in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s memorable words, India awoke to life and freedom, our country was deeply conscious of its international obligations. In his historic speech about India’s “tryst with destiny”, Nehruji, speaking of his country’s dreams, said: ‘Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any one of them to imagine that it can live apart. Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this One World that can no longer be split into isolated fragments.’ These words are typical of that great nationalist that a time when the fires of Partition were blazing across the land, he thought not only of India, but of the world. In recalling that spirit 62 years later, I am pleased to see so many internationalist-minded young Indians here today.”
