Mr. President, I am here to support the Resolution moved by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the beloved leader of our country. No Indian is more fortunate than those who have assembled in this House to frame the Constitution for a free and independent India. What more proud privilege can there be for an Indian than to fashion the Constitution for his country in this House? Every Indian is eager to support the sentiments and words contained in tile Resolution. The noble ideas and sentiments embodied in the Resolution have been the cherished desires of Indians for centuries. There was a day when our country was great, glorious and independent. For centuries India has been in bondage and the young men and women of this country and its old people have been struggling hard, with a burning desire to break the chains of slavery. At last the moment has come when we have assembled here today to declare our land free and independent as stated in the first para of this Resolution. Nothing can be more desirable today than the declaration of independence of our country. Here, we are not declaring India actually independent, but from a practical point of view, we announce that we are going to declare the land independent. It is our firm determination to declare it free and independent. It has been stated in the Resolution that the country, which we declare here independent, shall include all the territories unfortunately termed today as British India. British India is not India but India as a whole is India. I wish, not only the parts of India having at present British governance, but the territories outside British India termed as Indian states, constituting separate units under paramountcy, should also be included in this great and free country and the Resolution declares so. The territories such as Pondicherry, Goa, Daman, and Diu, at present under foreign domination, also form parts of India. I wish these all together with Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim, which constitute our frontier, should also be included in this free land. Such is the conception of this Resolution. All the human ideals of ages–equality, fraternity and brotherhood–are embodied in this Resolution. In the eighth. ‘Mandal’ of the ‘Rig Veda’ is a hymn which says:
‘All human beings are equal. The King should have the same regard for his subject that a mother has for her sons.’