Topic: India’s tryst with destiny

Purpose: To officially declare the independence of India

Thesis Statement:

In the speech made by the former PM of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, announces the Independence of India. He makes this speech in front of 400 other Indian representatives at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi. Throughout his speech, he highlights how the past will be different from the future for the free, Independent India.

Introduction

Attention Strategy:

Independence acts as the basis of civil and human rights for a citizen of any country. The national flag and the image of ‘Mother India’ are personified in this speech to describe the joy of freedom by referring to India as ‘her’.

Orienting Material:

India got its Independence in 1947, after about 200 years of British occupation. India had been through a deadly struggle for independence that costed India over 120 million people over the course of its struggle. Furthermore, India, or then ‘Bharat’, was divided by the British on communal lines, which resulted in the creation of India and Pakistan. Thus, Independence to India came at a cost which was too expensive and thus the quote, “tryst with destiny.”

Preview:

• Prominent feature of the speech is that he uses his words very wisely to express his feelings of independence.
• Using Pathos, he persuades his audience by using quotes “tryst with destiny” and “When the world sleeps, India will awaken to light and freedom” to explain his stance and expectation of India of the future
• His tone is persuasive and very compelling to hear
• For any Indian, his words were extremely inspirational as at that time India won independence from the British after 150+ years of occupation.
• The Kairos of his argument can be related to the time of his speech i.e. on eve of independence of India.
• His speech was played over “All India Radio” and “Doordarshan.” Hence, his speech could be heard by over 200 million Indians across the country
• He gave this speech at the Rashtrapati Bhavan – the house of the Parliament and the President- in front of over 600 other Indians.
• The problem that I believe in this speech is the use of English language.
• The idea of civic comes through his promotion of the image of ‘free India’ as he describes India as ‘her’, thus reminds the people of India of the image of Mother India as depicted by Abanindranath Tagore in 1905.