Read this on net a few minutes ago ....
Tryst with destiny (New Delhi, Aug 1947)
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964)
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Arguably, the most memorable speech of modern India and perhaps the finest that Nehru ever made. It was at midnight on August 14, that the Constituent Assembly met to usher in independence. Nehru was to be sworn in as the Prime Minister of India by Mountbatton on the morning of August 15---'The Appointed Day', Nehru had noted in his pocket diary---but in the speech he spoke as the embodiment of the hopes and aspirations of the Indian People. He had prepared his speech with care. His Special Assistant, M.O.Mathai, has said in the first draft Nehru had written 'date with destiny'. Mathai pointed out to Nehru the inappropriateness of the word 'date' given the solemnity of the occasion. After consulting Roget's Thesaurus, Mathai suggested tryst or rendezvous as replacements. Mathai writes, '[I] cautioned that the pkrase "rendezvous with destiny" was used by President Franklin Roosvelt in his famous wartime speeches. He [Nehru} thought for a moment and changed date to tryst in the typescript.' It should be pointed out however many consider Mathai's testimony to be unreliable.
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Tryst with destiny (New Delhi, Aug 1947)
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964)
--
...
Arguably, the most memorable speech of modern India and perhaps the finest that Nehru ever made. It was at midnight on August 14, that the Constituent Assembly met to usher in independence. Nehru was to be sworn in as the Prime Minister of India by Mountbatton on the morning of August 15---'The Appointed Day', Nehru had noted in his pocket diary---but in the speech he spoke as the embodiment of the hopes and aspirations of the Indian People. He had prepared his speech with care. His Special Assistant, M.O.Mathai, has said in the first draft Nehru had written 'date with destiny'. Mathai pointed out to Nehru the inappropriateness of the word 'date' given the solemnity of the occasion. After consulting Roget's Thesaurus, Mathai suggested tryst or rendezvous as replacements. Mathai writes, '[I] cautioned that the pkrase "rendezvous with destiny" was used by President Franklin Roosvelt in his famous wartime speeches. He [Nehru} thought for a moment and changed date to tryst in the typescript.' It should be pointed out however many consider Mathai's testimony to be unreliable.
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