THE SPEECH THAT NEVER WAS

First, the background story. In 11th grade, I saw a truly awful Republic Day speech being rehearsed. The same speech which has been used for seven odd years and,I suspect,will be used for seven more ,was dusted off the rack and touched up in a  bad way. Since I could not take it, I wrote an alternate speech and presented it to my English mam.It was not accepted  because it was deemed "too harsh".Here is the speech.

"Fellow countrymen ,it gives me great pleasure to address you on the 21,152nd day of our Republic. The presence of this august gathering, comprising of our Principal,our Vice principal ,staff and the torchbearers our  generation gives me added pleasure and joy.

Each year,it is a tradition to speak of our past glory,the gallant exploits of our freedom fighters and our country as a developing nation. How long are we to rest on our past laurels, content with the tag"developing nation"? The previous two generations have distinguished themselves by  freeing us from the shackles of oppression and  putting us on the path of socio-economic development. If  we rest on their laurels and fail to act, we will be remembered as the first generation,  post independence , to have not been of service to the nation.

As John F Kennedy, former president of The United States of America , once said "Ask not what your country can do for you.Ask instead,what you can do for your country." We have the bane of indifference. How does this bother me?" is the  first question asked . This must change. The  poison of pessimism coursing  through  our veins must be replaced with life giving Hope.

There is only so much a government can do in a democratic country. It can implement reforms, make broad changes. It is up to us to be discerning and dynamic.

Technology is the pride of our nation. This has to reach everyone in every part of the country. Village knowledge centers must be set up in every village in India. A large number of companies  have come forward to  back this ambitious venture. The Tatas ,proud owners of Corus  and the inventors of the nano, RIl , Microsoft and many more  have pledged their support.

May more things have to be done. Merely saying that one person cant change anything is  pure escapism. "The history of the world is the history of a few men who dared to have faith in themselves" said Swami Vivekananda. Those who examine history will find this to be true.

It was one man who inspired the non-violence movement; it was one man who founded the Indian National Army; it was one man who went to the west and proclaimed the glory of Vedanta;it was one man who founded our glorious institution which now has 125 centres around the world.

Let us have the courage to follow our dreams. Let us dare to hope. Most of all ,let us be proud of  our Motherland  and endeavour to be worthy of being an Indian.let us have a happy Republic Day.Thank you."