Jawaharlal Nehru

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The ambition of the greatest men of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but so long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over.

Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 - 27 May 1964) Indian politician, first Prime Minister of India.

1 Sourced
- 1.1 A Tryst With Destiny
- 1.2 Speech to the US Congress (13 October 1949)
2 Attributed
3 External links

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Sourced

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A Tryst With Destiny

Speech in the Constituent Assembly of India, on the eve of India's independence (14 August 1947) Full text at Wikisource

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. 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.
- Quicktime excerpt

Freedom and power bring responsibility.

The ambition of the greatest men of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but so long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over.
And so we have to labour and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. 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.
- Quicktime excerpt

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Speech to the US Congress (13 October 1949)

Full text of Speech

Where freedom is menaced or justice threatened or where aggression takes place, we cannot be and shall not be neutral.

We have achieved political freedom but our revolution is not yet complete and is still in progress, for political freedom without the assurance of the right to live and to pursue happiness, which economic progress alone can bring, can never satisfy a people. Therefore, our immediate task is to raise the living standards of our people, to remove all that comes in the way of the economic growth of the nation. We have tackled the major problem of India, as it is today the major problem of Asia, the agrarian problem. Much that was feudal in our system of land tenure is being changed so that the fruits of cultivation should go to the tiller of the soil and that he may be secure in the possession of the land he cultivates. In a country of which agriculture is still the principal industry, this reform is essential not only for the well-being and contentment of the individual but also for the stability of society. One of the main causes of social instability in many parts of the world, more especially in Asia, is agrarian discontent due to the continuance of systems of land tenure which are completely out of place in the modem world. Another-and one which is also true of the greater part of Asia and Africa-is the low standard of living of the masses.

India is industrially more developed than many less fortunate countries and is reckoned as the seventh or eighth among the world's industrial nations. But this arithmetical distinction cannot conceal the poverty of the great majority of our people. To remove this poverty by greater production, more equitable distribution, better education and better health, is the paramount need and the most pressing task before us and we are determined to accomplish this task. We realize that self-help is the first condition of success for a nation, no less than for an individual. We are conscious that ours must be the primary effort and we shall seek succour from none to escape from any part of our own responsibility. But though our economic potential is great, its conversion into finished wealth will need much mechanical and technological aid. We shall, therefore, gladly welcome such aid and co-operation on terms that are of mutual benefit. We believe that this may well help in the solution of the larger problems that confront the world. But we do not seek any material advantage in exchange for any part of our hard-won freedom.

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Attributed

A leader or a man of action in a crisis almost always acts subconsciously and then thinks of the reasons for his action.

A theory must be tempered with reality.

Action itself, so long as I am convinced that it is right action, gives me satisfaction.

Action to be effective must be directed to clearly conceived ends.

America is a country no one should go to for the first time.

Citizenship consists in the service of the country.

Crises and deadlocks when they occur have at least this advantage, that they force us to think.

Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.

Democracy and socialism are means to an end, not the end itself.

Democracy is good. I say this because other systems are worse.

Every little thing counts in a crisis.

Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes.

Failure comes only when we forget our ideals and objectives and principles.

Great causes and little men go ill together.

I do not attach much importance to America's bombs. I attach importance to her great vitality and integrity. The strength of America is deeper and more significant than her financial power.

I have always thought that the best way to find out what is right and what is not right, what should be done and what should not be done, is not to give a sermon, but to talk and discuss, and out of discussion sometimes a little bit of truth comes out.

I have become a queer mixture of the East and the West, out of place everywhere, at home nowhere.

I want nothing to do with any religion concerned with keeping the masses satisfied to live in hunger, filth, and ignorance. I want nothing to do with any order, religious or otherwise, which does not teach people that they are capable of becoming happier and more civilized on this earth, capable of becoming master of his fate and captain of his soul.

Ignorance is always afraid of change.

It is a fundamental rule of human life that, if the approach is good, the response is good.

It is only too easy to make suggestions and later try to escape the consequences of what we say.

It is science alone that can solve the problems of hunger and poverty, of insanitation and illiteracy, of superstition and deadening of custom and tradition, of vast resources running to waste, or a rich country inhabited by starving poor... Who indeed could afford to ignore science today? At every turn we have to seek its aid... The future belongs to science and those who make friends with science.

It is the habit of every aggressor nation to claim that it is acting on the defensive.

Let us be a little humble; let us think that the truth may not perhaps be entirely with us.

Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will.
- Variants: Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you is determinism; the way you play it is free will.
  Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.

Logic and cold reason are poor weapons to fight fear and distrust. Only faith and generosity can overcome them.

Loyal and efficient work in a great cause, even though it may not be immediately recognized, ultimately bears fruit.

No country or people who are slaves to dogma and the dogmatic mentality can progress, and unhappily our country and people have become extraordinarily dogmatic and little-minded.

Obviously, the highest type of efficiency is that which can utilize existing material to the best advantage.

Our chief defect is that we are more given to talking about things than to doing them.

Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.
- Variant: Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.

Socialism is . . . not only a way of life, but a certain scientific approach to social and economic problems.

The art of a people is a true mirror to their minds.

The basic fact of today is the tremendous pace of change in human life.

The forces in a capitalist society, if left unchecked, tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

The man who has gotten everything he wants is all in favor of peace and order.

The only alternative to coexistence is codestruction.

The person who talks most of his own virtue is often the least virtuous.

The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.

The purely agitational attitude is not good enough for a detailed consideration of a subject.

There is perhaps nothing so bad and so dangerous in life as fear.

Those who are prepared to die for any cause are seldom defeated.

Time is not measured by the passing of years but by what one does, what one feels, and what one achieves.

To be in good moral condition requires at least as much training as to be in good physical condition.

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.