LK Advani Speech On Parliament’s 60th Anniversary

Brut India

Why did India remain a democracy while several others lost their way? LK Advani was speaking on the 60th anniversary of the Indian Parliament on May 13, 2012. #tbt

Transcript

00:00When I look back, I see that the beginning of my life and the major events of my life

00:12did not start with the attainment of independence.

00:17I saw the British rule, and for the first 20 years of my life,

00:24I had only one desire in my heart, that when will I be liberated from this imperialism?

00:31How will I be liberated?

00:34And in those days, when I actually heard about Mahatma Gandhi,

00:44or when I had the opportunity to see him in Karachi,

00:49when I came here, I really felt that such great people were born in a very poor world.

01:00And today, when I think about India, I see that India has become independent.

01:15India has also become a universal power.

01:22People have no doubt that India will become a universal power in the years to come.

01:34But in spite of all these specialties, if someone asks me today,

01:43what is the biggest speciality?

01:47That after being liberated from the British, after becoming independent,

01:53after becoming a constitution in India,

02:00and after 60 years since the first day of the Parliament,

02:08what is the biggest speciality?

02:11I will tell you why we are celebrating this day today.

02:16India has become a great and successful democracy.

02:23I consider this to be the biggest speciality.

02:28In those days, when India adopted democracy in 1950,

02:37what comments did the foreign scholars make?

02:41That this country will become a democratic country?

02:46And I don't quote anyone, but the great scholars there also said that

02:53in a country where millions of people cannot write their names,

03:00if they sign a document, they sign it with a thumbprint.

03:07How will that country become a democratic country?

03:11How will that country become a successful democratic country?

03:14There were many people who expressed their doubts and disbelief.

03:20And today, this country, which denies all their doubts and disbelief,

03:29can proudly say that we have kept this country a successful democracy for 60 years.

03:39To celebrate this, we are celebrating this special occasion on 13th May.

03:48I remember that in 1989 or 1990,

03:56when I was the President of the party,

04:00a Canadian television team came to New Delhi.

04:06They came to meet me at my Ashok Road office.

04:11They came and said,

04:14you have so much experience of India's democracy,

04:19from independence till now.

04:22We want to know from you,

04:25that in a country where there were many developing countries around the world,

04:30and after getting freedom from imperialism, they adopted democracy,

04:36but in most of the countries, democracy was disintegrated in some way.

04:43Somewhere, there was military rule.

04:45Somewhere, there was some other kind of authoritarian rule.

04:49Your country is the only one where it is still alive,

04:55it is still successful,

04:57and even today, it is determined to build its future on that basis.

05:04What is the reason?

05:06I said, I think,

05:09so I think of only one thing,

05:11and that is,

05:13for the success of democracy,

05:16the biggest quality is that

05:20there should be a feeling of tolerance even for the opposite opinion.

05:27But I am proud of the fact that

05:32in our country,

05:34for the opposite opinion,

05:38there is not only a feeling of tolerance,

05:41there is a feeling of respect.

05:43And this feeling of respect,

05:46I say as an example,

05:48that most intolerance is in the field of religion.

05:56It is in the fields of religion.

06:01And in that field,

06:03scientists and inquisition were brought to the fore all over the world

06:08that what you are saying is not written in a religious text.

06:12That is why you will be trialled.

06:15Forget about trials in India,

06:17there was a thinker who said,

06:21that if you do good deeds,

06:24you will be blessed in the next life.

06:27These priests talk nonsense.

06:29You don't worry about them.

06:31And you eat well, drink well and enjoy.

06:36Eat, drink and make merry.

06:42There is a famous verse in the Charvat.

06:45yāvat jīvaṁ sukhaṁ jīvet

06:47rinam kṛpaṁ kṛtam pibet

06:50rinam kṛpaṁ kṛtam pibet

06:52It means, take a loan and drink ghee.

06:55When I used to tell this in western countries,

07:00I used to tell them,

07:02he was not talking of credit cards.

07:04rinam kṛpaṁ kṛtam pibet

07:08vaspī bhūtasya dehasya

07:10punala gamanaṁ puthaḥ

07:12This body is going to be destroyed.

07:14To think that the next birth will come,

07:16nothing will come.

07:17This is nonsense.

07:19And this Charvat,

07:21he was not brought up in front of the inquisition.

07:24He was called Rishi Charvat.

07:27It means, it is not correct,

07:30but it is a matter of respect.

07:32When in the field of religion,

07:36if the one who has a different opinion is respected,

07:40and he is called a Rishi,

07:42then in the economic, social, political field,

07:46if a person says that

07:48the whole country should be under his rule,

07:50and the other person says that

07:52the whole public should be under his rule,

07:55how can there be any inconsistency in this?

07:58I believe that

08:00the main reason for the success of democracy in India

08:05is respect for the opposite opinion.

08:09And the Parliament is a great example of this.

08:13My senior colleague,

08:16he is a senior in the Parliament for 3-4 months,

08:19and I,

08:21both of us came to the Parliament first,

08:23and

08:25what he just said,

08:27I fully endorse it.

08:30And I say,

08:32that if we have respect for each other,

08:37respect for the opposite opinion,

08:41then through debate,

08:43through debate,

08:45through debate,

08:47every problem will be solved.

08:49And this is the success of the Parliament.

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