Jawaharlal Nehru: Speeches on the Granting of Indian Independence

Impact

The speeches are largely rhetorical and were intended to satisfy psychical and social more than political needs. The immediate intended impact was to stem the tide of communal hatred that had occurred during the last months of British rule and that were a major cause of violence during the process of partition. The speeches thus focus on the principles of secularism and communal harmony that were to be a major feature of the Indian Constitution. They also functioned as a morale boost to a country that had suffered for a century under an oppressive colonial regime. However, Nehru's remarks do not focus so much on the hardships of the freedom struggle. Instead, they outline a history of India and the subcontinent that accommodated hardship as a reality that led to higher cultural growth. Consequently, the speeches do not even once mention the British and the immediate colonial context but speak of Indian tradition and culture as imbued with a unique destiny that spans millennia, of which the immediate past is a fragment. Thus Nehru's addresses have an agenda of cultural decolonization intended to serve the masses as a means to overcome the trauma of colonization and partition. In terms of political impact, the speeches signaled the birth of a new nation and at the same time its intention to reach out to other nations, including Pakistan as well as other newly independent nations.

As a visionary statement, the speeches have stood the test of time. The value of secularism, in particular, has been crucial in shaping Indian identity as a nation. India has managed to remain one of the largest democracies in the world, while the nations carved off its territory have faced persistent problems in maintaining a democratic identity. Nonetheless, some of the intentions expressed by Nehru were unrealized or only partially realized during his stints as prime minister. Nehru's belief in amicable relations with Pakistan soon soured, as two months after independence, in October 1947, Pakistan invaded the princely territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which had a Muslim majority. While Indian armies managed to drive out the invaders when the ruler of the state acceded to India, a small portion of Kashmir remained in the hands of Pakistan, known as Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, a region that has witnessed many violent conflicts and continues to be a source of militancy movements to this day.