8 Best & Most Heartwarming & Inspiring speeches by Indians in the History
Nothing is more powerful than words especially when they come from inspiring personalities. We have grown up hearing many leaders’ speeches that left a great impact on the lives of millions of people. A speech does not become great only with the words one speaks, but also with how one speaks with certain characteristics like tone and body language. Here, in this article, we have listed out a list of some heartwarming speeches made by Indians everyone should know.
8 Most Powerful Speeches by Indians – Every Indian Must Read
1. Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda gave a speech at the world parliament of religions at the Art Institute Of Chicago in the year 1893. He started his speech with the salutation “Sisters and Brothers of America”. This salutation got a standing ovation from over 7000 people present there. He introduced Hinduism to North Americans and also explained the reason for disagreement between different religions across the world. His thoughts and clarity left a deep impact on the Americans. Some of the highlights of the speech were “Each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet to preserve his individuality.”
2. Mahatma Gandhi
On August 8th of the year 1942 while addressing the AICC at the Gowalia Tank Maidan now known as August Kranti Maidan in Bombay on the eve of the Quit India Movement Mahatma Gandhi spoke “We shall either free India or die in the attempt. We shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery.” the phrase “do or die” in his speech left everyone with the determination to free the motherland from the British rule. His speech made everyone stand up as one for freedom and led into a revolt.
3. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
In the year 1998, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was sentenced to six years of imprisonment at Mandalay jail in Burma for his rebellious writing against Britishers. When he returned to India from jail, he founded the Home Rule League in the year 1916 to revive the Nationalist movement. He traveled across the country together with Annie Besant telling people the meaning of Home Rule or Swaraj. Tilak’s speech which was presented on the first anniversary of the formation of the Home Rule League in 1917 at Nashik is one of the greatest speeches in Indian history. Some of the greatest lines addressed in the speech were “Freedom is my birthright. So as long as it is awake with me I am not old.”
4. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose phrased “Gives me blood and I promise you freedom” in Burma in July 1944. Subhash Chandra Bose escaped his house arrest in Calcutta in 1941 and escaped to Germany to establish the Indian Legion. He then moved to Singapore where he started the Azad Hind force. The campaign led by the army under the leadership of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose failed but Subhash Chandra Bose never lost hope in freedom. He always believed that the British will lose ground one day and India would surely taste freedom. The speech he delivered was one of his best-known speeches which inspired the youth to fight for freedom.
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5. APJ Abdul Kalam
Abdul Kalam outlined the visions of India at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad in the year 2011 with the phrase “We have not conquered anyone. We have not grabbed their culture, and history, and tried to enforce our way of life to them. Why? Because we respect the freedom of others.” Abdul Kalam with sheer simplicity and hard truth in his voice pleaded with countrymen to get more involved in the nation-building process.
6. Mother Teresa
In the year 1994, Mother Teresa phrased “If we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another” at the US National Prayer Breakfast which startled many people at that time. Mother Teresa raised her voice against abortion in the gathering of over 3,000 people and she didn’t even shy from offering her views of being a nun. Robert Dugan, an official of the National Association of Evangelicals mentioned that “Her speech was as bold as a prophetic confrontation as I have never witnessed.”
7. Narayan Murthy
In the year 2002, Narayan Murthy spoke the phrase “most of our behavior comes from greed, lack of self-confidence, lack of confidence in the nation, and lack of respect for the society.” He delivered his speech on the role of Western values in contemporary Indian society at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management in Delhi. Narayan Murthy used words that were honest, factual, and inspiring that would make anyone sit up and listen to him. He urged the Indians to bring about a social change and mentioned the urgency in his voice.
8. Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru delivered this phrase “The light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere. Our beloved leader Bapu as we call him, the father of the nation is no more.” the speech which was spoken on the 30th of January in the year 1948 following the Assassination of Mahatma Gandhiji. His helplessness and sorrow were reflected in his voice over All India Radio. Jawaharlal Nehru also requested people to remain calm and express their grief for the tragedy.
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