Miscellaneous - This Day That Age

dated January 18, 1953: "Let us march with faith"

That was the rousing call Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru made in his Presidential address at the 58th session of the Indian National Congress in Nanalnagar, Hyderabad, on the 17th. He wanted the Congress and the people to march with good heart and faith in the destiny of our country building up the new Republic in a more conscious, deliberate and planned way. Surveying India's post-Independence achievements, he touched on national problems and laid great stress on the implementation of the Five-Year Plan. "We should concentrate now on our Five-Year Plan and, having accomplished it, go ahead with added strength to solve other problems. Though modest, our Plan has far-reaching consequences. I have no doubt that if we implement it well, we shall go ahead much faster," he said.

Pandit Nehru called for stern measures against evils in the Congress organisation that had come to light, and warned, "We have to be very careful against them lest we allow these evils to corrupt and enfeeble the Congress. The Congress cannot function along narrow and party lines. Always, we must think in terms of the country as a whole and shape all our actions with that larger end in view. The path ahead has been chalked out for us, but the journey is not an easy one. But then, let us remind ourselves constantly that we have not been used in the past to soft living or easy reward. We have to develop that old spirit again, that temper which forgets self and is not depressed by difficulty and temporary lack of success. I invite you all to march along this path with good heart and faith in the destiny of our country."

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