India - A Free Country !

A speech I wrote for a Debate Competition, favouring the Motion that India is indeed a Free Country.

“Agar Firdaus-e-rooh-e-Zameen Ast, Hami Ast ho, Hami Ast ho, Hami ast”

A very good morning esteemed panel of judges and my dear friends, I stand here, proud, I stand here with a valiant sense of conviction, I stand here as one though many, I stand here, as an Indian.

India is indeed a free country, with 60 years gone by as independence and over 2000 years of an enriched legacy to learn from, Amir Khusrau’s words, that when he stepped on the Indian soil, he saw heaven still persists verbatim. Freedom, is an expression where we are probably aware of our rights and duties, the Indian Constitution one of the longest and most well designed Constitutions in the world supports and justifies this word – Freedom.

In 60 years of Independence, India has reached new milestones in establishing individual freedom and liberty. The judiciary along with the executive as well as the legislature have tried level best to establish individualism within the citizens of our country while ascertaining a lot of freedom and liberty. If we question, India’s progress as an independent country through the sixty years that have gone by, I would possibly say, that the progress is highly commendable. Looking back into the history of America, sixty years through their independence, the nation’s freedom was least available owing to the drudgery the slaves had to go through, thus leading it all to a civil outcry.

India, on the other hand, being a secular country has guaranteed so much of freedom to her citizens that in spite of various presence of diversities based on Religion, Caste, language and what not, we have still held ourselves united and together. The Indian law particularly has forever kept in mind all the religious sentiments of various religions which exist in the Indian society. We often question the presence of various laws, however, if not for the flexibility of the Indian Judiciary, we would have possibly been driven to live under a strict presence of dictatorial leaders. The Indian system of freedom, is like that of a mother to her children, when Keshavananda Bharathi felt that the Constitution should bring about strict rules on amendments, he appealed to the Judiciary for which his word was taken and the decision ruled in his favour. It seems to me, that the current system prevailing in India is more like a relationship as shared between a mother and her child.

When India, is known to be the great grand mother of tradition, she has also welcomed change towards modernism with open hands. When India, was known as the Grandmother of legend, she has welcomed westernization with a lot of love. If today, people feel, that India is not in pace with the developments of the world at large, I would urge them to think again, we develop unlike China, where the Constitution though quite lenient completely restricts fundamental rights in most situations; we develop unlike Japan, where each man day wasted means a weeks cut in your salary; we develop unlike the United States, where recession has led Ph.d Scholars to find jobs in super markets, We develop as Indians, where we believe greatly in the values of traditions whilst giving great impetus to futuristic developments. We develop as Indians, where we give our respects to the Individual freedom looking not at them, but at that god which lives in them. With this I would I would like to conclude.

Namaste and Assalam Walaikum to that God that lives within each one of you. Long live Free India.