By Commentary November 15, 2014

A twist to Nehru’s Tryst

This was sent by IndiaFacts reader, Parag Tope.

 

If only Nehru had said this…(The twist) What Nehru actually said(The Tryst)
11 “My chief defect is that I am more given to talking about things than to doing them” “Our chief defect is that we are more given to talking about things than to doing them”
10 “Let me be a little humble; let me admit that the truth may not perhaps be entirely with me” “Let us be a little humble; let us think that the truth may not perhaps be entirely with us”
9 “The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Am I brave enough and wise enough to give you, the people of India, the freedom to make the choices that are best for you?” “The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?” [August 14, 1947. Link]
8 “The forces of the Government, if left unchecked, tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer” “The forces in a capitalist society, if left unchecked, tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer”
7 “No country or people whose leaders are slaves to dogma and the dogmatic mentality can truly be free. Unhappily as the leader of this nation, I have become the perpetrator of this dogma and little-mindedness” “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”
6 “I think the years I have spent in prison have been the most formative and important because during that period, the Indian people were not afflicted by my dogma, my impositions, and my policies to run their lives.” “I think the years I have spent in prison have been the most formative and important in my life because of the discipline, the sensations, but chiefly the opportunity to think clearly, to try to understand things”
5 “There is perhaps nothing so bad and so dangerous to freedom as socialism” “There is perhaps nothing so bad and so dangerous in life as fear”
4 “The touchstone, therefore, should be to give the most freedom to the people to let them rise to their potential, and let them decide what is good for themselves. The law should not interfere whether people choose competition or cooperation, because the good of society is best decided by society itself, not by Government.” “The touchstone, therefore, should be how far any political or social theory enables the individual to rise above his petty self and thus think in terms of the good of all. The law of life should not be competition or acquisitiveness but cooperation, the good of each contributing to the good of all.”
3 “Organised religion and Socialism … both, tend to close and limit the mind of man and to produce a temper of a dependent, unfree person” “Organised religion… tends to close and limit the mind of man and to produce a temper of a dependent, unfree person”
2 “It was agreed that the individual should not be sacrificed and indeed that real social progress will come only when freedom is given to the individual to develop…” “It was agreed that the individual should not be sacrificed and indeed that real social progress will come only when opportunity is given to the individual to develop…”
1 “Hindutva is . . . not only a way of life, but a certain scientific approach to social and economic harmony.” “Socialism is . . . not only a way of life, but a certain scientific approach to social and economic problems.”