It is an honour to stand before you to celebrate India’s Independence Day. Today, we celebrate a nation built not just on geographic borders but on stories—stories of courage, stories of innovation, and stories of unwavering belief in human potential.
When we look back at the history of India, it is easy to think of historical figures as larger-than-life characters. But every major movement, every breakthrough idea, and every resilient institution was started with individuals who were once sitting exactly where you are sitting right now: figuring out who they were, what they cared about, and where they fit into the world.
Consider Shri Ardeshir Godrej, a founding father of the Godrej Group. He left his career as a lawyer to launch a business in colonial India, manufacturing locks in a small workshop in an area which is famous not only for Lalbaugcha Raja but also for the historical connection between Godrej and the Indian democracy.
Around that time, freedom fighter Madam Bhikaji Cama, along with another member of the illustrious Godrej family, co-founded the influential Paris Indian Society. Madam Cama is known for being the first person to hoist the Indian flag on foreign soil in Germany. You can actually see that flag even today at the Kesari Library in Pune. It’s called Kesari library after Kesari, the newspaper started by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, remembered as the father of Indian revolution. Tilak started the Deccan Education Society and Fergusson College in Pune, which paved the way for other colleges and universities like ILS Law School, Symbiosis, MIT WPU, Gokhale Institute, College of Engineering, IISER, IITM, the University of Pune, etc. He is the reason why Pune is called “The Oxford of the East” today, and some of you might go to college there.
These sound like legendary tales. But here is the secret: all these figures were once just like you—young people searching for their purpose, figuring out who they were, and trying to navigate an uncertain world with humour, anger, love, and a lot of pressure. These pioneers had a simple desire that many of you share today: they wanted the freedom to make their own choices and to build something meaningful, and they also wanted to be taken seriously. In teenage years, it’s wanting independence, wanting to prove you are special at something—whether it’s coding, sports, music, art, content creation, or entrepreneurship. It is the exact same spirit of enterprise that built this country.
Let me share some stories.
When we achieved independence, grand celebrations broke out in India and around the world. But behind the scenes, two quiet, monumental acts of leadership were unravelling.
First, the Constituent Assembly, a diverse body of nearly 300 members spanning every background, occupation, gender and belief, was drafting our Constitution, led by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Ours is perhaps the longest written constitution in the world and the only one which is artistic. It became an enduring masterpiece of not only law, rights and duties, but also art, design, and calligraphy.
I have promised that I will visit again to explain how the pages of our constitution were illustrated, why we chose the Ashoka Pillar as the national emblem, Satyamev Jayate as the national motto, why our Constitution is an elegant bag of borrowings from over 50 nations, how our Constitution endured the test of time while others collapsed.
But back to the topic:
Soon after the constitution was enacted, it was time for the first general election in independent India in 1951. Godrej manufactured 16 lakh steel ballot boxes to operationalise our new democracy. From those steel boxes to partnering with ISRO for the Mangalyaan & Chandrayaan space missions, the group standing firmly behind your beautiful school has helped build India in more ways than we can imagine.
The second monumental act of leadership in the backdrop of independence was this:
Foreign media was publishing news of Indian independence along with the name of one person closely associated with the idea of India. Everyone in India, from Delhi to Ahmedabad, Bombay to Madras, wanted to see the man who contributed immensely, but he couldn’t be found.
In Aug 1947, when grand celebrations were taking place, there were communal riots and discord in many parts of the country. Two days before Independence, Gandhi Ji chose to walk on the streets of the city that witnessed the most violent riots. India was celebrating freedom, but Calcutta was burning with communal violence. While many people were leaving the streets out of fear, Mahatma Gandhi walked into them to place his trust once again on the messages of harmony and unity.
Instead of asking people, “Which side are you on?”, he walked alongside a Muslim leader into tense neighbourhoods, asking people to imagine the fear of the person facing a weapon or an angry mob. Gandhi chose to stand where people were being targeted; he stood fearlessly alongside victims. Slowly, something unexpected happened. People who had been fighting began coming out of their homes. People who were hiding out of fear for their lives started talking to others. Some even embraced one another and comforted them. Now you know why Vaishnava Janato is Gandhi Ji’s favourite bhajan. Peed parai jaane re means ‘to feel and understand the pain of others’.
Imagine being Gandhi that day. You could have celebrated freedom with everyone else. Instead, you chose to stand where people were hurting and being violent. You chose to stand where people were in so much pain that they couldn’t relate to the joy of freedom.
That is empathy—not merely feeling sorry for someone but having the courage to step into their pain. To look them in the eye and recognise their dignity. And perhaps that is the simplest meaning of communal harmony: “I may not share your religion, your traditions or your experiences – but I can still understand your pain, respect your dignity, and I stand beside you.”
Empathy is a biological superpower—it lowers stress, builds resilience, and rewires our brains for connection. I urge you to practice it. You will notice that it can be contagious – the more empathy you demonstrate, the more you experience it yourself, and the more you see it around you.
Why do I share these stories with you today on August 15th? Because you are not just the future of India—you are its active present. Every value that built this nation—empathy, perseverance, curiosity, and courage—is something you are navigating in your own lives right now.
All of us who are older than you know what it feels like to be a teenager. You are navigating a storm of unspoken questions: Am I smart enough? Am I good at anything? Do my friends actually like me? What am I going to become?
Let us connect the lessons of our history to where you stand today:
1. Your marks don’t define who you are. Your ideas, patience, friendships, empathy define you.
One bad exam or a low percentage does not make you stupid, nor does it ruin your future. You can respect your parent’ dreams without turning those dreams into your entire identity. I can guarantee you that none of your esteemed teachers sitting here performed perfectly in every single subject throughout their lives.
Nation-building requires different talents — musicians, coders, dancers, doctors, athletes, scientists, writers. Just as the Constituent Assembly needed 300 people with completely different skills to build a nation, India today needs more than just exam toppers.
Actually, even small ideas become powerful over time and can have a lasting impact. Let me share two stories:
First, the story of Hansa Mehta, another freedom fighter. She studied philosophy when very few women were allowed to study in India and then studied sociology in England when only a handful could go abroad. But you know what her lasting contribution has been: she played a key role in shaping the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. One of the major debates concerned the text of Article 1, which used the phrase “All men were born free and equal in dignity and rights.” Hansa Mehta, the only delegate from India, wanted this changed to “all human beings are born free and equal”. How remarkable is that?
Second, for the longest time the grand festival of Ganesh Chaturthi was a private domestic ritual which only a few elite households followed. Someone thought, ‘Why can’t I take the celebrations to the public?’ It was Maharashtra’s own Bal Gangadhar Tilak who conceived 10-day public celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi with speeches, plays, music, mela, ending with visarjan. The rest is history. He started the first public Ganesh Utsav in Naik Chawl in Girgaon Chowpatty 133 years ago.
That’s the power of one small idea. If it can challenge the status quo, it can lead to a mass awakening of society. Tilak’s statue was installed just a few metres ahead of Wilson College 40 years after he did this. Hansa Mehta travelled the world when she was in her mid-20s, but her seminal contribution was when she was 45. It takes time.
2. You don’t have to have your whole life figured out today.
At 15, it is completely fine to be confused. Remember I shared that Ardeshir Godrej started as a lawyer before he realised his calling was manufacturing and innovation. By the way, while we are on this topic, law is a great subject to consider for university and as a career. Please don’t get wrong ideas. There is a saying in law that “if you succeed in the profession, you will become Motilal. If you don’t, you will end up becoming Jawaharlal.”
At the age of 16, a young Shri Naval Godrej started working in the same Lalbaug factory – not in a swanky office but on the hot, uncomfortable factory floor to make machine parts. I read this in a special edition of Amar Chitra Katha.
Another freedom fighter, Usha Mehta, finished studying philosophy at the same Wilson College, then started studying law but quit midway because she joined the Quit India movement with Gandhi Ji and Lala Lajpat Rai. In 1942, a big protest against the Simon Commission was announced at the Gowalia Tank, present-day Malabar Hill in south Bombay. Unfortunately, all senior leaders – Gandhi, Patel, Tilak – were arrested two days before. But it didn’t stop a massive crowd from gathering. A 22-year-old Usha ended up addressing the crowd. She hoisted the flag and shouted, “Simon go back” with the protestors. She didn’t stop. With her friends, Usha started the first secret Congress underground radio for which she was eventually arrested by the British police. She was one of the first political prisoners to be released from jail.
Imagine being Usha that day. Leading thousands of Indians, giving confidence, and leading the movement.
Your teenage years are not a finite race to beat the person next to you. This is the age of exploration—try coding; play a sport you are not a champion in; listen to music you haven’t heard before; try an art form (any art form); try cooking; even making innovative content online which requires tremendous imagination and good writing skills.
But digital content could lead to unproductive interpersonal comparisons.
3. Practice empathy over comparison.
When Gandhi Ji walked through Calcutta on the eve of independence in 1947, he looked at real human beings rather than rumours, hearsay, or appearances. It was Albert Einstein who said about Gandhi that “generation of people to come will scarce believe that such a man as this in flesh and blood had walked upon this earth.”
Today, much of the pressure you feel comes from comparing your behind-the-scenes life to someone else’s social media highlight reel. In reality, people look much less like their Instagram profiles and a lot more like their Aadhaar card photos.
Stop comparing. Build a life you actually enjoy and surround yourself with friends who make you feel comfortable being yourself. What matters is building relationships. Choose friends who make you feel safe to be yourself. Give compliments generously – honest compliments are the real vitamin C needed to nurture relationships. In building relationships, in building anything, mistakes happen all the time.
But,
4. You have the freedom to make mistakes and try again and again.
Many of you secretly want to be exceptionally good at something, to build a business, create art, make videos, or master a skill that makes adults take notice. You want independence and respect. That journey starts with giving yourself permission to fail, ask for help, and reset.
The desire to look confident, to understand relationships, to earn your own money, or simply to take a break from constant pressure is universal. Even the older people around you – sometimes your parents, teachers, uncles, aunts, leaders, celebrities. Everyone around you is figuring it out as they go. Everyone.
You don’t need to hold a public office, or have wealth, or be a rank holder to contribute to creating a better society. Nation-building is not something that only happened in 1947, nor is it reserved for popular political leaders, sportspersons winning world cups, or scientists launching space probes.
You build India every time you choose empathy over judging someone
Every time you support a friend who is struggling, you make their day better.
Every time you try again after failing, you become a better citizen.
Every time you intervene when someone is unfairly treated, you help build a better community.
Every time you step up to be yourself, you help create a better society.
Every time you’re kind to someone who feels left out in the classroom or the sports ground, you move India an inch forward.
Dear students, you’re better than you think you are. And this is your time to shine.
I will end with a couplet of late Rahat Indori. It’s from all Udayanchal students to the world out there:
“Shaakhon se toot jaye wo patte nahi hai hum, aandhi se koi keh de ki aukat mein rahe.” [1]
Happy Independence Day, Everyone.
Ashish Bharadwaj.
To learn more about the event at Udayachal High School, click here.
Ashish Bharadwaj is Distinguished Fellow, Law and Education, Gateway House.
For interview requests with the author or for permission to republish, please contact outreach@gatewayhouse.in.
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References:
[1] “We are not the leaves that break off from the branches; someone tell the storm to stay within its limits.”