Plate 7.3

At midnight on 15 August 1947, in a dramatic gesture that stirred feelings of pride throughout the land, Jawharlal Nehru, as the country’s first prime minister, stood up in the parliament chamber and announced that India had claimed its freedom. With eloquent words he told the assembly that

Long ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes 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 wake to life and freedom ~ Page 220