Question

Read again the extracts from Nehru’s speech ‘Tryst with Destiny’ and answer the following: 

(a) Why did Nehru use the expression “not wholly or in full measure” in the first sentence?

(b) What pledge did he want the makers of the Indian Constitution to take?

(c) “The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye”. Who was he referring to?

Answer 1

(a) The task of building a nation is a gargantuan task which cannot be fulfilled in one’s lifetime. Hence Nehru had used the expression, “not wholly or in full measure, but substantially”.

(b) He wanted them to take the pledge of building a nation in which there would not be a single person with tears in his eyes. He wanted them to understand the huge responsibility which destiny had thrust upon them.

(c) He was referring to Mahatma Gandhi.