By IANS,
New Delhi : Indians have taken their freedom for granted, Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari lamented Thursday, calling for efforts to ensure that the sacrifices of those who had fought for the country’s independence were remembered by successive generations.
“Indians across all generations should consider the freedom struggle in continuity and not as just a chapter the country’s history. They have taken freedom for granted,” Ansari said at the launch of an album “Voices Of Freedom” at his official residence here Thursday.
The album, an initiative by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) president Karan Singh, is a compilation of the stirring speeches delivered by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, and Rabindranath Tagore during the freedom struggle.
“These voices are a re-affirmation of our Indianness in totality. This is a commendable exercise,” Ansari said, adding that the album must be made available to schoolchildren and college libraries to enable then relive the trials and tribulations of the freedom struggle.
“The freedom fighters made a great deal of sacrifices and those are beginning to become just memories,” the vice president maintained.
According to Karan Singh, “many years ago, a music company came to me with the idea of putting together the speeches delivered by our national leaders to enlighten the youth about the freedom movement. Basically, spoken word has an immediacy and so I thought of taking this initiative”, he added
“This is also an initiative to celebrate 60 years of India’s independence and to commemorate the noble roles of the national leaders in building a free India,” Singh said.
The speeches ha been interspersed with the national song “Vande mataram” and others like “Saare jahaan se achha” that were at the very heart of the freedom movement.