Jawaharlal Nehru
14th August 1947 Speech delivered in the Constituent Assembly, New Delhi, on the eve of the attainment of Independence.
Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stoke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake t life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.
