Great orators and their speeches

Man, it is said, is a social animal. Communication with other people is therefore an essential feature of social behavior, and can happen in various forms such as looking, touching, and speaking. Speaking is easily the most powerful of these forms.

Oratory is the art of a person addressing a group of others formally usually on a given subject. It is a skill which is, in part, a natural gift and partly one which can be acquired by learning and practice.

There are various fora in which orators make a rank. In what follows, we shall look at some of the real life and fictional speeches, made by great real or fictional orators in the history, of the world, and also in the works of great writers such as the immortal Shakespeare.

Ever since democracy came to be accepted as a preferred form of governance across the world, the need to impress would - be voters with one's agenda, (also called the “manifesto” in the case of political parties), and win them over for support during the election, has caused oratory to become an exceptionally well honed skill.

Parliaments and provincial legislatures, as well as local self-governing bodies, are some among the more familiar platforms where elected to representatives of people have expressed their views, and canvassed for support – sometimes for oneself or one’s party and, at others, for one public policy or other.

In the following pieces an attempt is made to introduce to the reader some of the most well-known masterpieces of oratory that have become famous all over the world and have endured the test time.

I have tried to base the selection process not merely on the strength of the value of the message conveyed, but also for the manner which they were conveyed in and the power of the words, and for the impact their stirring delivery had in moving and inspiring the audience.

Dr BR Ambedkar

In the early days following the introduction of Parliamentary democracy in India soon after Independence, the architects of our Constitution met in the Constituent Assembly to draft that historic document.

One of those stalwarts was the great Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The following are some experts from his address to that Assembly, in which he gave expression to some of his hopes and fears.

Referring to the invasion of Sindh by Muhammad bin Qasim, he said. "What perturbs me greatly is the fact that not only India has once before lost her independence, but she lost it by the infidelity and treachery of some of her own people".

Expressing appreciation over how the infant body politic of India would handle the emerging threats inherent to a parliamentary system with political parties playing a major role, he said "… In addition to our old enemies in the form of castes and creeds you are going to have many political parties with diverse and opposing political creeds.…". Reminding the Assembly that their country was no stranger to the democratic way of governance he said………

"It is not that India did not know what is democracy…". "It is not that India did not know Parliament procedure” referring to the Sanghas which a study of Buddhist Bhikshu Sanghas discloses."

Importantly Ambedkar issued three warnings.

"The first thing… hold fast to constitutional methods of achieving… social and economic objectives…".

The second warning… Not to lay the liberties at the feet of even a great man or to trust with power which enable him to submit their instructions "(Quoting John Stuart Mill).

Sarvepalli Radha Krishna - first Vice President of India
India had, soon after Independence, the good fortune of having several learned, and farsighted and patriotic persons at the helm of affairs. Professor S. Radhakrishnan the first Vice President of India, was one such great person.

His life was adorned with so many achievements and accomplishments, that it is impossible to recount even a few of them in the short space that this article is obliged to occupy. However, in the context of the greatest ever speeches made in Parliament, one cannot help recollecting a few excerpts from the memorable address he made to the joint sessions of the Houses of Parliament in 1961, along with the then President of India Dr. Babu Rajendra Prasad.

During that profoundly thought provoking speech Dr. Radhakrishnan referred ot many important aspects of what he believed to be the situation in the country at that time and what he expected it to be in the future.

"Before us we see long years of a new era; mankind in every way reaping a rich harvest from the fields of the earth – gaining more sure mastery of elemental power for human benefit – sharing an expanding (trade?) commercial goods and the knowledge and wisdom – (working?) together in peace" he said, lamenting that "history portrays the world too often tragically divided by misgiving and mistrust and quarrel".

He posed a blunt question to all present asking "must we continue to live with prejudices, practices and policies that will condemn our children and our children's children to live helplessly in the pattern of the past – awaiting possibly a time of war – – obliteration?

Expressing the hope that mankind will push forward toward "peace; toward freedom; toward dignity and a worthy future for every man and woman and child in the world", he affirmed that the Republic India had, since its founding, been committed to "relentless, ceaseless fight against those same three evils – political subjection, racial inequality, economic misery – "– referring to Nehru speech a decade earlier at Columbia University, New York.

He ended that historic address by expressing the hope that India has "the strength and the means and the knowledge – – – – may God inspire us to strive for the worldwide will and wisdom that? one our first needs. In this great crusade, from the history of your own nation, I know India will ever be a leader."

The long, historic and non-violent struggle for freedom in India, to secure release from the clutches of British imperialism, saw many great heroes emerging on the national scene. Many of them were great orators.

Thereafter, once the Parliamentary form of democracy had been ushered in, began another era of great oratory in the fora of Parliament and in provincial legislatures. While, a just and fair selection of speeches from the star-studded list of great speakers is simply out of the question a few pieces have been picked, not merely for the value of the message conveyed or the weight of the expression, but also the aptness of the occasion.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee - Former- Prime Minister of India
The fall, in 1998, of the extremely short-lived Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA government was precipitated by the successful passing of a no-confidence motion introduced in the Lok Sabha by the then opposition. It was while replying to that motion that Vajpayee made a memorable speech that fully reflected the mood of the House at that touching and poignant moment.

Quoting Nehru, he said the country had to "……. step out from the old to the new; when an age ends; and when soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance;” “….. No resting ……. till we redeem our pledge in full ……”