The difference between governments under dictatorship and government in India? In India, there's an opposition, said Javed Akhtar in his passionate retirement speech as a Rajya Sabha MP. The artist and politician turned 75 today.
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00:00Democracy, remember this, cannot happen without secularism.
00:05If a definition is made of a majority or a minority, which is permanent,
00:11then democracy will end on the same day.
00:16I had come with a special purpose, a special aim.
00:20I had come to this country with the problem of the copyright of some writers and composers.
00:27I met Sonia ji, along with her colleagues.
00:30She sent us to Manmohan Singh ji.
00:34When she heard about it, it had the same effect on her as it had on Sonia ji.
00:38Manmohan Singh ji said, look, we will definitely support you.
00:41But you should talk to the opposition, especially the BJP.
00:45Your work cannot be done without them.
00:48So we went to Arun Yatli Sahib.
00:51And I was surprised and happy that they knew our problem to a great extent.
00:56But we gave them some more details.
00:59And the way they reacted,
01:01that day I came to know that this work will be done.
01:07But I liked this very much about Manmohan ji,
01:10that he said, talk to the opposition, it cannot be done without them.
01:15This is how it should be.
01:16See, governments are also found in those countries where there is dictatorship.
01:21Governments are also found in those countries where there is sheerdom and monarchy.
01:25But what is the difference between democracy and these governments?
01:30There, there is only government.
01:33Here, there is both government and opposition.
01:39And someone rightly said,
01:43that in the garden, there is a mixture of colours and smells.
01:46That there is a mixture of fragrance and colour in the garden.
01:51That there is a mixture of fragrance and colour in the garden.
01:54If we are we, then what are we?
01:57If you are you, then what are you?
02:03See, we are very fortunate.
02:10And we keep complaining to the governments,
02:14and to the country, and to the society.
02:16But we don't thank those who are close to us.
02:20And we don't thank those who are close to us.
02:26And that is our constitution.
02:31If you look at it,
02:34if you walk from here, you will find another democracy on the Mediterranean coast.
02:39What is the difference?
02:41What is our strength,
02:43that we find here?
02:46And this constitution gives us democracy.
02:51But democracy, remember this,
02:54cannot exist without secularism.
02:57These are the countries where there is no secularism.
03:00And that is why there is no democracy.
03:03What does democracy mean?
03:06That more people's opinions,
03:09where there is majority,
03:11that will be accepted.
03:14Where there is minority, that will not be accepted.
03:17But democracy assumes,
03:20that this majority and this minority are not permanent.
03:25They will change on every issue.
03:28If such a definition is made,
03:31if such a definition of majority and minority is made,
03:34which is permanent,
03:37then democracy will end on that day.
03:44If we talk about secularism,
03:47if we try to save secularism,
03:50then we are not doing any favor to one class or another class.
03:54We have to save secularism,
03:57because without it, democracy cannot exist.
04:02But I believe,
04:05that in our country,
04:08there is a great achievement,
04:11when we were free,
04:14we were not able to make a needle.
04:17Today, we are an industrial country.
04:20We have a great achievement.
04:23We could have achieved more,
04:26but what we have achieved is more.
04:29But the biggest achievement is,
04:32that we have buried the democracy in our land.
04:35Its roots are so deep,
04:39which our ancestors gave us.
04:42On one hand, we have democracy,
04:45and on the other hand,
04:48we have a country,
04:51where 50% of the population
04:54is younger than 27 years of age.
05:0133 crore people are young,
05:04between 10 and 25 years of age.
05:08This is a young country.
05:11It has so much energy.
05:14It has a good law,
05:17it has energy,
05:20it has knowledge,
05:23it has talent.
05:26I believe this,
05:29not because I am an Indian,
05:32but because it is true,
05:35that everything is in our favor.
05:40What is the reason,
05:43that today,
05:46we have the most unemployed people in the world?
05:49What is the reason,
05:52that we have the most TB patients in the world?
05:55What is the reason,
05:58that every 5th child in the world,
06:01who dies before the age of 5,
06:05dies because of a minor pregnancy?
06:10We have to think about this.
06:13We have the power,
06:16we have the law,
06:19we have the system.
06:22If we want to develop the country,
06:25who is going to develop it,
06:28for whom, and at what cost?
06:31Development is not GDP.
06:34It is human development index.
06:37The question is,
06:40I can tell you,
06:43that there is a country called Brazil,
06:46where the third largest private plane fleet in the world,
06:49has a population of one third,
06:52below the poverty line.
06:55This does not happen in our country.
06:58This does not happen in our country.
07:02I believe,
07:05that every party wants,
07:08the welfare of the country.
07:11And if we wake up a little,
07:14I see that,
07:17where there are problems of unemployment,
07:20hospitals, medicine, schools,
07:23colleges, infrastructure,
07:26we are investing our energy in these things.
07:30We are investing our energy in these things.
07:33Every day I hear something,
07:36that should not have been heard.
07:39A few days ago,
07:42a person thought,
07:45that he is a national leader,
07:48although it is true,
07:51that he is a leader of one state of India,
07:54one city of Hyderabad,
07:57that he should not say,
08:00Jai Bharat Mata.
08:03Because,
08:06the constitution does not tell him to do so.
08:09The constitution does not tell him to wear a Sherwani,
08:12nor to wear a cap.
08:22I am interested in knowing,
08:26whether it is my duty to say,
08:29Jai Bharat Mata,
08:32or not.
08:35Because it is not my duty,
08:38it is my right.
08:41And I say, Jai Bharat Mata,
08:44Jai Bharat Mata,
08:47Jai Bharat Mata.
08:50Who are these people?
08:53I condemn you,
08:56and their thoughts,
08:59as much as possible.
09:02And I condemn one more slogan,
09:05which is often said,
09:08in the cities of India.
09:11Two Muslim states,
09:14Pakistan and Pakistan,
09:17I condemn them too.
09:23But we cannot stop.
09:26Time does not stop.
09:29Either we go forward,
09:32or we go backward.
09:35We have to decide on these two paths.
09:38In which countries,
09:41in which societies,
09:44the wise are those,
09:47who learn from experience.
09:51In which countries,
09:54it is believed,
09:57that the past was good.
10:00In which countries,
10:03it is believed,
10:06that what we are saying,
10:09is right.
10:12What does it mean,
10:15to turn a person's head,
10:19if he is against religion?
10:22That country should be our example.
10:25Or that country,
10:28where all kinds of freedom,
10:31or the last temptation of Jesus Christ,
10:34can also be made.
10:37Which country is right?
10:40Where is a person at ease?
10:43Where is dirtiness?
10:46And there is no need for it.
10:49Maybe some of my friends,
10:52are angry with me,
10:55but I understand it from the heart,
10:58that there are very capable people in this government.
11:01And those who do a very good job,
11:04they can do it.
11:07But it is a very big responsibility on them,
11:10that these so-called French,
11:14who are not ministers,
11:17they should be in control.
11:20So Mr. Javed,
11:23I am forced to look at the clock.
11:26I also believe that the time is not good.
11:29I am with you.
11:32So I hope that,
11:35whether it is the opposition,
11:38or the government,
11:41that the young people,
11:44will not always remain young.
11:47Japan has lost this advantage.
11:50China is losing this advantage.
11:53You have at most 20 years,
11:56when you have this energy.
11:59You will reach a plateau,
12:02and then both of them will go there.
12:05After 100-150 years,
12:09the government will not take us forward.
12:12And this polarization will not take us forward.
12:15It is not difficult,
12:18it is not easy,
12:21that wherever there is a roof,
12:24or a cloth,
12:27or medicine,
12:30or schools,
12:33or roads,
12:37everything will be destroyed.
12:40Thank you very much.