I am proud to belong to a religion which taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth.

Every Indian youth, because he reached his knowledge through the English language, lost at least six precious years of life. Multiply that by the numbers of students turned out by our schools and colleges, and find out for yourselves how many thousand years have been lost to the nation. The charge against us is that we have no initiative. How can we have any, if we are to devote the precious years of our life to the mastery of a foreign tongue?

The point is very important in this case. The point is as to what were our intentions sand to what extent we are guilty. This is a very complicated question and no one will be able to express before you that height to mental elevation which inspired us to think and act in a particular manner. We want that this should be kept in mind while assessing our intentions our offence. According to the famous jurist Solomon, one should not be punished for his criminal offence if his aim is not against law.

Hindusthan is a Fatherland and Holyland to us not because it is a land entirely unlike any other land in the world but because it is associated with our history, has been the home of our forefathers, wherein our mothers gave us the first suckle at their breast. Our fathers cradled us on their knees from generation to generation.

As I look back on the vast stretch of years that lie behind me and see in clear perspective the history of my early development, I am struck by the change that has taken place both in my own attitude and in the psychology of my countrymen -- a change that carries within it a cause of profound tragedy.

We should have but one desire today- the desire to die so that India may live- the desire to face a martyr’s death, so that the path to freedom may be paved with the martyr’s blood. Friends! my comrades in the War of Liberation! Today I demand you one thing, above all. I demand of you blood. It is blood alone that can avenge the blood that the enemy has spilt. It is blood alone that can pay the price of freedom. Give me blood and I promise you freedom.

Passion and wisdom never go together.

A free India will be judged by the way in which it will serve the interest of the common man in the matter of food, clothing, shelter and the social services.

Concord is the only way by which we can get rid of differences.

The appointed day has come - the day appointed by destiny - and India stands forth again after long slumber and struggle, awake, vital, free, and independent. The past clings on to us still in some measure, and we have to do much before we redeem the pledges we have so often taken. Yet the turning point is past, and history begins anew for us, the history which we shall live and act and others will write about.

But let me be clear on one point. We aren’t going to give up Kashmir. Not now. Not ever.

What I don’t understand, is how can their minds change overnight and their loyalties altered? Now that they declare loyalty to us, and question us on our suspicions of Muslims, we say why question us? You should look within yourself and ask the same question.

Let Pakistan develop; let it become good as heaven. Make it strong and robust. We as neighboirs stand to benefit from it.

I want to emphasize this gain and again that neither do we have animosity towards them, nor do we want to build it. They should live and let live. Let us be.

So long as the country was under the yoke of the British rule, all the movements and policies in the country had one principal ‘aim to drive out the foreign rulers and to achieve independence’. But what would be the face of the new Bharat after independence? In which direction were we to advance?

If we stop to analyze the reasons for the problems facing the country we will find that the confusion about our goal and the direction is mainly responsible for the chaos.

Lord, make me a channel of your peace, that where there is hatred, I may bring love; that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness; that where there is discord, I may bring harmony; that where there is error, I may bring truth; that where there is doubt, I may bring faith; that where there is despair, I may bring hope; that where there are shadows, I may bring light; that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

When you talk to young people today, their main worry is to get a job. I don’t blame them. Its is a real worry. But also, there seems no longer to be a feeling that we can do thaings as well or better than others or even things that others haven’t done. So I thought that, perhaps, this flight would rekindle a spark of enthusiasm, a desire to do something for the country and its good name, an that it would show that even in these days, when aviation is no longer an adventure but only big business, the times for pioneering are not gone.

No outsider will take care of our interest or think about us. We have to look after ourselves. This is not exclusively my responsibility. I am here today; I may not be here tomorrow. But the responsibility to look after national interest is on the shoulder of every citizen of India.

This session of the General Assembly is being held in the shadow of the barbaric terrorist acts of September 11, which dramatically reminded us that neither distance nor power insulates a State from terrorism.

The two crucial elements in this would be strict curbs on sources of financing for terrorists and denying them safe havens for training, arming and operation.

Mr. President, nearly six thousand lives were lost on September 11. But the global economic downturn in its aftermath will take a far larger human toll, mainly in the developing world. The World Bank has estimated that tens of thousands more children will die worldwide and some ten million more people are likely to go below the poverty line of 1 dollar a day. It is pertinent to reflect on these chilling statistics even as the Ministerial Conference gets under way in Doha to consider WTO issues.

I would like first to share some of these key life events with you, in the hope that these may help you understand my struggles and how chance events and unplanned encounters with influential persons shaped my life and career.

Valuable advice can sometimes come from an unexpected source, and chance events can sometimes open new doors.

Life Lessons:

It is less important, I believe, where you start. It is more important how and what you learn.

It is this very quality of how we respond systematically to chance events that is crucial.

The latter view, a growth mindset, leads to a tendency to embrace

challenges, to learn from criticism and such people reach ever higher levels of achievement.

I believe this greater awareness and knowledge of oneself is what ultimately helps develop a more grounded belief in oneself, courage, determination, and, above all, humility, all qualities which enable one to wear one’s success with dignity and grace.

The best use of all your wealth is to share it with those less fortunate.

Soon after winning the most exalted title a sportsperson can aspire to, World Champion, came the vacuum. What was the next big thing?

It is extremely difficult to change a wiining formula, but one has to experiment even when you succeed. Defeat gives you the courage to experiment. Success can never motivate you the same way.

Why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why? We are the first in milk production.We are number one in Remote sensing satellites. We are the second largest producer of wheat. We are the second largest producer of rice. Look at Dr. Sudarshan; he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.

YOU say that our government is inefficient. YOU say that our laws are too old. YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?

So how does a boy who is neither talented nor athletic become both World and Olympic champion? The answer is a four-letter word; in fact, it is two four-letter words: HARD WORK.

I was tenacious. I hung on despite disappointments.

I was stubborn as a mule. I refused to give up.

I believed in myself. And when my belief in myself faltered, I had the sense to listen to my team – my family and coaches – who believed in me for me.

When people ask me what helped me win gold, this is what I say to them. “I slogged my guts out – I did it without compromise, when there was no one to see, no one to be impressed. I did it when I did not feel like it. And the reason I did it is: my desire to win was, and is, much greater, than my desire to make excuses or find reasons not to win.

Being successful does not mean my children will also be so, however much I teach them what all did in my life, and they follow it to the letter. Success just happens, really.

Poverty entails fear and stress and sometimes, depression. It wasn’t out of any creative desire that I signed my films – it was just purely out of the fear of failure and poverty.

Success is never final, just like failure is never fatal. Courage is ill-defined if you think it means doing something macho, risky or chancy. If that happens at somebody else’s cost, it’s even less courageous. Courage is doing whatever you are afraid to do – personally scared to do – in whichever capacity you work. There can be no courage unless you are scared. So be scared to feel courage, be fearful.

I know I have met so many guys who have fasted for me, prayed for me, done so much for me. Without that life wouldn’t have been like this for me. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, and also say that time has flown by rather quickly, but the memories you have left with me will always be with me forever and ever.

I share some thoughts on Philanthropy on this occasion. First, involving your family early on in Philanthropy is very important. Their understanding, endorsement, and involvement may eventually be the most determining factor. Second, the key to scaling up Philanthropy and doing good work is getting good people in the team. Third, philanthropic work needs patience, tenacity, and empathy.

We must do Philanthropy because it is the Right thing to do.

I also believe that every one of us has the basic empathy with the people around us; we just need to let it find expression.

It takes one positive result to reverse the direction of the flow of faith in the nation.

I say, we have demographic division and I believe, that 21st century is the century for Asia with India and China leading. India has two powers of which one is its demographic division and the other being division of democracy.

My best wishes to you that you come to such a land in whose blood there is money, entrepreneurship, courage and power. You also take some of that power and come forward to change the destiny of the country.

In order to fulfill the aspirations of the masses, we have to sharpen the tool called “government machinery”, we have to make it keen and it is in this direction that we are working.

Brothers and sisters, development and good governance are the only two tracks to take the country forward. Imagine of 125 crore countrymen move one step forward, then the country moves 125 crore steps forward.

Tourism provides employment to the poorest of the poor. But there is a big obstacle in promoting tourism and in our national character, and that is – the filthiness all around us.