Independence Day 2025 Quotes: From Lala Lajpat Rai to Smriti Mandhana; celebrating freedom and power of education
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'Literacy is not the end of education not even the beginning. It is one of the means whereby man and women can be educated. Literacy in itself is no education. By education I mean an all round drawing out of the best in child and man–body mind and spirit.'
'If I had the power to influence Indian journals, I would have the following headlines printed in bold letters on the first page: Milk for the infants , Food for the adults and Education for all.'
Independence Day Speech 2025: How to write a perfect school assembly speech?
'The backward classes have come to realize that after all education is the greatest material benefit for which they can fight. We may forego material benefits, we may forego material benefits of civilization, but we cannot forego our right and opportunities to reap the benefit of the highest education to the fullest extent. That the importance of this question from the point of view of the backward classes who have just realized that without education their existence is not safe.'
'Ignorance is always afraid of change.'
'Education is not merely a means for earning a living or an instrument for the acquisition of wealth. It is an initiation into life of spirit, a training of the human soul in the pursuit of truth and the practice of virtue'
'Growth via diverse journeys and failure as learning'
'Education leads to enlightenment, strength, and prosperity'
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As PM Modi flags concerns about ‘demographic change' in border areas, what the numbers say
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Himachal Pradesh's rates hovered closer to the national mean in several decades, and Assam itself dipped below the national average in 2001–11. Heartland matches border states' growth In the north, high growth has not been the preserve of border states. Heartland states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh consistently posted above-average rates, often rivalling or exceeding the border states. Rajasthan, for example, recorded growth rates in the high 20s across many decades (28% in 1951–61, 29.1% in 1971–81, 28.3% in 1991–2001). Rajasthan, despite being a border state, shares demographic behaviour more akin to the high-growth heartland than the variable patterns of some other frontiers. Gujarat, too, posted decadal growths between 24% and 27% till the 1991-2001 period. Same for Madhya Pradesh that has swayed from 21% in 1951-61 to almost 30% in 1971-81 and dipping back to the low 20s in 2001-2011. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar also stayed well above the national average in several Censuses, reflecting higher fertility and lower urbanisation during that period. Barring 1951-61, when UP's decadal growth stood at 13.8%, its decadal growth has remained over 25% in all subsequent decades, dipping to 20% in 2001-2011. Bihar, too, has remained in the range of 25%-30% since 1951-61. Similarly, the trajectory of Punjab, a border state, has not been very different from many inland states, with population growth rising from the low 20s to the high 20s till the 1980s before declining to just 13 % in the 2001-2011 period. The convergence of growth rates between inland and northern border states complicates any simple 'border vs inland' generalisation in this region. West Bengal: One exceptional decade On the eastern frontier, West Bengal presents a different pattern. The state recorded its highest-ever decadal growth between 1951 and 1961, the only decade in which it exceeded the national average. That spike is linked to heavy post-Partition migration from erstwhile East Pakistan. In the three decades that followed (1961–91), Bengal's growth stabilised at around 23%–24%, roughly matching the national average. From 1991–2001, the state's growth rate dipped below the national average, reaching 13.8% in 2001–11. This trajectory sets it apart from many northeastern border states, which maintained high growth for longer. Contrasts in southern states The southern coastal states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh experienced an early demographic transition marked by rapid fertility decline, rising literacy, and higher urbanisation. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka generally moved earlier through the demographic transition. Kerala's decline is most striking: from double-digit growth in early decades, it fell to 4.9% in 2001–11, well below the national average of 17.7% for that decade; Tamil Nadu also reported lower rates relative to the national mean in several decades. These reductions reflect faster declines in fertility, higher literacy and more extensive urbanisation and health coverage in the south. Population surges and historical shocks Several historical events reshaped the country's demographic map. These included the Partition (1947) that brought large-scale population displacement into Punjab, West Bengal, and Assam. Early Censuses captured this churn. The Bangladesh Liberation War (1971) saw a surge in growth in Assam, Tripura, and West Bengal, correlating with refugee inflows. Recent decades: Closing the gap, but not evenly By 2001–11, the gap between high-growth frontier states and the rest of the country narrowed. Many border states slowed in line with the national trend, though some, particularly in the Northeast, still registered above-average rates. The most dramatic shifts were in states such as Nagaland (negative growth) and Assam (drop below the national average). In contrast, high-growth inland states in the North continued to outpace much of the South and the West, underscoring the role of fertility patterns over geography alone.
