Our Tryst with Destiny | #315

Mitron,

It’s that time of the year when Office HR figures out creative ways to get people to don ethnic wear at work. The time of year when slapping a tricolour pin on your shirt is mandatory in your RWA-approved flag hoisting in the apartment complex.

This year we’re doing something different - an ode both to the nation’s birthday, and to the brave students who fought for accountability. This edition has been written by our friend - Hari Shenoy aka Thought Brownie. You can follow his Substack writing here and his music here.

On 15th August 1947 we broke up with the British Empire and gained our independence.

On 14th August 1947, on the eve of that historic occasion we partied late into the night. Well, sort of.

Our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave a famous speech. Nehru was well spoken, smart and articulate. That evening, he delivered a speech which is considered a historical masterpiece.

“Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially.

At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.

A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.”

It is customary to pay tribute to the brave women and men who fought for our freedom from the Brits. Once we were rid of the shackles of tyranny, there was plenty to do. A brand new nation needed to get its act together, so that it could uplift millions of people long suppressed find their place in the sun.

The Constitution of India was created so that we could define the relationship between us and those who governed us. It provided us with the legal guarantees to ensure we would always be free.

In recent times, some of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed in our Constitution came under threat.

Our Constitution guarantees our right to freedom of speech and expression, our right to assemble peacefully without arms, and our right to life and personal liberty.

When these rights were challenged, the brave youth of our nation stood strong, and channeled the spirit of our freedom fighters to bring about change. They used the same methods Gandhi used - peaceful protests, Satyagraha and peaceful marches to demonstrate their dissatisfaction.

We salute the brave women and men whose continued efforts are helping us hold those in power accountable for doing what their job description says. After all, government officials are not public masters. They are public servants.

We thought we’d mark Independence Day 2026 by paying tribute to the recent Gen Z protests, with some inspiration from Nehru’s original ‘Tryst With Destiny’ speech.

Here it is:

A few weeks ago,
You made a tryst with destiny.
You spoke truth to power.
And you tasted victory.

You made sure to keep the peace.
And you did things in style.
You dropped reels and memes,
And made us all smile.

You are brave enough,
and wise enough.
You didn’t back down
when things got tough.

Despite threat of
of strife and sorrow,
You fought together for a
brighter tomorrow.

You discarded living idols,
and chose to break the mold.
A brand new India,
must say bye to the old.

Dictators and tyrants
whether white or brown,
will do what they can
But they can’t grind you down.

You’ve won a big battle,
There’s plenty more in store.
You will boldly go where no generation
Has ever gone before.

You are an upgraded version,
You are smarter, you are stronger
You can do the impossible,
Even if impossible takes longer.

We salute you, and applaud you
For making history,
and for all that you’ll achieve,
In your trysts with destiny.

We wish you all a very happy Independence Day and remember our tryst with destiny was not a promise fulfilled on 15th August 1947, but a promise that began. A promise that every generation must renew, every citizen must uphold, and the nation must forever strive to keep.

💟 IWTK