Why did India remain a democracy while several others lost their way? LK Advani was speaking on the 60th anniversary of the Indian Parliament on May 13, 2012. #tbt
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00:00When I look back, I see that the beginning of my life and the major events of my life
00:12did not start with the attainment of independence.
00:17I saw the British rule, and for the first 20 years of my life,
00:24I had only one desire in my heart, that when will I be liberated from this imperialism?
00:31How will I be liberated?
00:34And in those days, when I actually heard about Mahatma Gandhi,
00:44or when I had the opportunity to see him in Karachi,
00:49when I came here, I really felt that such great people were born in a very poor world.
01:00And today, when I think about India, I see that India has become independent.
01:15India has also become a universal power.
01:22People have no doubt that India will become a universal power in the years to come.
01:34But in spite of all these specialties, if someone asks me today,
01:43what is the biggest speciality?
01:47That after being liberated from the British, after becoming independent,
01:53after becoming a constitution in India,
02:00and after 60 years since the first day of the Parliament,
02:08what is the biggest speciality?
02:11I will tell you why we are celebrating this day today.
02:16India has become a great and successful democracy.
02:23I consider this to be the biggest speciality.
02:28In those days, when India adopted democracy in 1950,
02:37what comments did the foreign scholars make?
02:41That this country will become a democratic country?
02:46And I don't quote anyone, but the great scholars there also said that
02:53in a country where millions of people cannot write their names,
03:00if they sign a document, they sign it with a thumbprint.
03:07How will that country become a democratic country?
03:11How will that country become a successful democratic country?
03:14There were many people who expressed their doubts and disbelief.
03:20And today, this country, which denies all their doubts and disbelief,
03:29can proudly say that we have kept this country a successful democracy for 60 years.
03:39To celebrate this, we are celebrating this special occasion on 13th May.
03:48I remember that in 1989 or 1990,
03:56when I was the President of the party,
04:00a Canadian television team came to New Delhi.
04:06They came to meet me at my Ashok Road office.
04:11They came and said,
04:14you have so much experience of India's democracy,
04:19from independence till now.
04:22We want to know from you,
04:25that in a country where there were many developing countries around the world,
04:30and after getting freedom from imperialism, they adopted democracy,
04:36but in most of the countries, democracy was disintegrated in some way.
04:43Somewhere, there was military rule.
04:45Somewhere, there was some other kind of authoritarian rule.
04:49Your country is the only one where it is still alive,
04:55it is still successful,
04:57and even today, it is determined to build its future on that basis.
05:04What is the reason?
05:06I said, I think,
05:09so I think of only one thing,
05:11and that is,
05:13for the success of democracy,
05:16the biggest quality is that
05:20there should be a feeling of tolerance even for the opposite opinion.
05:27But I am proud of the fact that
05:32in our country,
05:34for the opposite opinion,
05:38there is not only a feeling of tolerance,
05:41there is a feeling of respect.
05:43And this feeling of respect,
05:46I say as an example,
05:48that most intolerance is in the field of religion.
05:56It is in the fields of religion.
06:01And in that field,
06:03scientists and inquisition were brought to the fore all over the world
06:08that what you are saying is not written in a religious text.
06:12That is why you will be trialled.
06:15Forget about trials in India,
06:17there was a thinker who said,
06:21that if you do good deeds,
06:24you will be blessed in the next life.
06:27These priests talk nonsense.
06:29You don't worry about them.
06:31And you eat well, drink well and enjoy.
06:36Eat, drink and make merry.
06:42There is a famous verse in the Charvat.
06:45yāvat jīvaṁ sukhaṁ jīvet
06:47rinam kṛpaṁ kṛtam pibet
06:50rinam kṛpaṁ kṛtam pibet
06:52It means, take a loan and drink ghee.
06:55When I used to tell this in western countries,
07:00I used to tell them,
07:02he was not talking of credit cards.
07:04rinam kṛpaṁ kṛtam pibet
07:08vaspī bhūtasya dehasya
07:10punala gamanaṁ puthaḥ
07:12This body is going to be destroyed.
07:14To think that the next birth will come,
07:16nothing will come.
07:17This is nonsense.
07:19And this Charvat,
07:21he was not brought up in front of the inquisition.
07:24He was called Rishi Charvat.
07:27It means, it is not correct,
07:30but it is a matter of respect.
07:32When in the field of religion,
07:36if the one who has a different opinion is respected,
07:40and he is called a Rishi,
07:42then in the economic, social, political field,
07:46if a person says that
07:48the whole country should be under his rule,
07:50and the other person says that
07:52the whole public should be under his rule,
07:55how can there be any inconsistency in this?
07:58I believe that
08:00the main reason for the success of democracy in India
08:05is respect for the opposite opinion.
08:09And the Parliament is a great example of this.
08:13My senior colleague,
08:16he is a senior in the Parliament for 3-4 months,
08:19and I,
08:21both of us came to the Parliament first,
08:23and
08:25what he just said,
08:27I fully endorse it.
08:30And I say,
08:32that if we have respect for each other,
08:37respect for the opposite opinion,
08:41then through debate,
08:43through debate,
08:45through debate,
08:47every problem will be solved.
08:49And this is the success of the Parliament.