Speech to be Made by His Excellency Shri C. Rajagopalachari at the Swearing-In Ceremony on 21st June, 1948

By C. Rajagopalachari

Summary

This two-page typescript is the address C. Rajagopalachari delivered at his swearing-in as Governor-General of India on 21 June 1948 — the first Indian, succeeding Lord Mountbatten, to hold the office. Rajagopalachari opens by thanking those present for lifting the occasion ‘from the place of a mere ceremony to that of human fellowship and cooperation,’ and acknowledges the historic significance of one ‘who belongs to the soil’ being entrusted with the headship of the state. He pays a graceful tribute to his predecessor’s detachment and energy, while modestly admitting his own inexperience in arms and diplomacy.

The substance of the speech is a plea for national unity and pluralism in the immediate aftermath of Partition. Rajagopalachari affirms that India is ‘unchangeably committed’ to a citizenship in which no one suffers disability on grounds of caste, creed or race, declares that the days of dynastic rule and domination by force are over, and warns against communal and territorial isolationism — communities, he urges, ‘should spread themselves out rather than build walls round themselves.’ He names internecine discord as the gravest threat to India’s peace, stresses the country’s economic interdependence across the new political division, and closes with a prayer for wisdom and a hope that he may render some service in the office conferred on him.

Key points

• The full text of C. Rajagopalachari’s swearing-in address as Governor-General of India, 21 June 1948.

• Marks the first time a person ‘who belongs to the soil’ became Head of State in India, succeeding Lord Mountbatten.

• Pays tribute to his predecessor’s detachment and energy while noting his own inexperience in arms and diplomacy.

• Affirms a citizenship free of disability by caste, creed or race.

• Declares the end of dynastic rule and domination by force.

• Warns against communal and territorial isolationism and internecine discord as the chief threat to India’s peace.

• Stresses India’s economic interdependence across the political division created by Partition.

• Closes with a prayer for wisdom and a hope to serve in the office.

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