Top 11 Speeches of Freedom Fighters

‘I stress only one condition, namely, let our pledge of truth and nonviolence as the only means for the attainment of Swaraj be faithfully kept.’ This speech was given by Mahatma Gandhi, a lawyer by profession and a nationalist by blood, who devoted his entire life to the liberation of India. Mahatma Gandhi is just one of the hundred and thousands of freedom fighters who not only fought against the evil British forces but inspired millions of young Indians to preach the ideals of swaraj (self-govern), self-determination, non-violence, ahimsa, etc. Today, we will provide you with a list of speeches of freedom fighters of the Indian Nationalist Movement.

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Top 11 Freedom Fighters

The list of freedom fighters is endless, as there were hundreds of thousands of freedom fighters who fought for the liberation of India. We have narrowed down this list to the top 10 freedom fighters, which are listed below.

• Dadabhai Naoroji
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak
• C R Das
• Bamkin Chandra Chatterjee
• Bhagat Singh
• Chandra Shekhar Azad
• Fakruddin Ali Ahmed
• Jawaharlal Nehru
• Subhash Chandra Bose
• Rabindranath Tagore
• Mahatma Gandhi

Also Read: In Pursuit of Freedom

Top 11 Speeches of Freedom Fighters

Here are the top 11 Speeches of Freedom Fighters.

1. Dadabhai Naoroji – Poverty and Un-British Rule In India

If it is within your power to make this rule a rule of justice and honour, and at the same time beneficent and profitable, both to yourselves and to us. But I cannot now enter further into that point. The hon. Member for Hull introduced the subject of the poverty of the people of India and treated it with a light heart. That is exactly the question that has to be fought out by me upon the Floor of this House, but the time is not now. I cannot now enter into a Debate upon that point, because you, Mr. Speaker, would very properly call me to Order. I can only intimate my point, and give you some ​ high testimony upon that subject. I will not go into my reasons, but only quote you the testimony of some of the highest financiers of India. First of all, a Viceroy like Lord Lawrence has distinctly stated in those words—it was in the year 1864— India is, on the whole, a very poor country. The mass of the population enjoy only a scanty subsistence.’

2. Bal Gangadhar Tilak

‘I am young in spirit though old in body. I do not wish to lose this privilege of youth. Whatever I am going to say today is eternally young. The body might grow old, decrepit and it might perish, but the soul is immortal. Similarly, if there might be an apparent lull in our home rule activities, the freedom of the spirit behind it is eternal and indestructible, and it will secure liberty for us. Freedom is my birthright. So long as it is awake within me, I am not old.’

3. CR Das

‘My appeal to you, therefore, is that a man like this who is being charged with the offenses imputed to him stands not only before the bar in this Court but stands before the bar of the High Court of History and my appeal to you is this: That long after this controversy is hushed in silence, long after this turmoil, this agitation ceases, long after he is dead and gone, he will be looked upon as the poet of patriotism, as the prophet of nationalism and the lover of humanity. Long after he is dead and gone, his words will be echoed and re-echoed not only in India but across distant seas and lands. Therefore I say that the man in his position is not only standing before the bar of this Court but before the bar of the High Court of History. The time has come for you, sir, to consider your judgment and for you, gentlemen, to consider your verdict.’

4. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee – Swaraj is my Birthright and I Shall Have It

‘The more we are united, the more capable we shall be of attaining the objects we have in view. Ignorance is the mother of poverty. Civilization cannot be secure unless all classes, high and low, are linked together.’

5. Bhagat Singh

‘They may kill me, but they cannot kill my ideas. They can crush my body, but they will not be able to crush my spirit. Philosophy is the outcome of human weakness or limitation of knowledge. Revolution is an inalienable right of mankind.’

6. Chandra Shekhar Azad

‘Don’t see others doing better than you, beat your records every day because success is a fight between you and yourself. If your blood does not rage, it is water that flows in your veins. I believe in a religion that propagates freedom, equality, and brotherhood.’

7. Fakruddin Ali Ahmed

‘I deem it a privilege to have been invited to be the Chief Guest at the 13th Convocation of the Indian Academy of Medical Sciences. The Indian Academy of Medical Sciences is an association of the highest talents in the field of medical sciences.  I am happy to note that the Academy is zealously striving to promote excellence in the field of medical research and education and that it plays a significant role in establishing an intellectual climate for the conduct of research in the specialized areas of medical science.’

8. Jawaharlal Nehru – Tryst With Destiny

‘Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny. Now the time has come when we shall redeem our pledge – not wholly or in full measure – but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.’

9. Subhash Chandra Bose – Give Me Blood and I Will Give You Freedom

‘Today I demand of you one thing, above all. I demand of you blood It is blood alone that can avenge the blood that the enemy has spilled. It is blood alone that can pay the price of freedom. Give me blood and I promise you freedom’

10. Rabindranath Tagore – Berlin’s Friedrich Wilhelm University

‘The idea of freedom to which India aspired was based upon the realization of spiritual unity. India must be loyal to this great truth and never allow it to be extinguished by the storm of passion sweeping over the present-day world. It is not merely self-determination, but self-conquest and self-dedication. The voice of this truth was heard in India’s forests of old above the din of race conflicts; it was declared in the Upaniṣads and expounded in the Gītā; Lord Buddha renounced the world that he might make this truth a household word for all mankind; Kabīr, Nānak and other great spirits of India continued to proclaim its message. India’s grand achievement, which is still stored deep within her heart, is waiting, to unite within itself Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, and Christian, not by force, not by the apathy of resignation, but in the harmony of active cooperation.’

Mahatma Gandhi – Quit India Speech

‘Ours is not a drive for power, but purely a non-violent fight for India’s independence. In a violent struggle, a successful general has been often known to effect a military coup and to set up a dictatorship. But under the Congress scheme of things, essentially nonviolent as it is, there can be no room for dictatorship. A non-violent soldier of freedom will covet nothing for himself, he fights only for the freedom of his country. The Congress is unconcerned as to who will rule when freedom is attained. The power, when it comes, will belong to the people of India, and it will be for them to decide to whom it is placed in the entrusted. Maybe the reins will be placed in the hands of the Parsis, for instance, I would love to see them be handed to some others whose names are not heard in Congress today. It will not be for you then to object by saying, “This community is microscopic. That party did not play its due part in the freedom’s struggle; why should it have all the power?” Ever since its inception, the Congress has kept itself meticulously free of the communal taint.

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