128th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s iconic speech at World’s Parliament of Religion in Chicago, a look at the entire speech
Swami Vivekananda is best known in the United States for his iconic speech in the World’s Parliament of Religions in 1893. Through his speech, he introduced Hinduism to America and called for an end to fanaticism.
Swami Vivekananda is best known in the United States for his iconic speech in the World’s Parliament of Religions in 1893. Through his speech, he introduced Hinduism to America and called for an end to fanaticism. September 11, 2021, marks the 128th anniversary of his groundbreaking speech in the US.
PM Modi recalls Swami Vivekanada’s speech:
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, on Saturday recalled the speech and said that its spirit has the potential to create a more just, prosperous, and inclusive planet. “Recalling Swami Vivekananda’s iconic 1893 speech at Chicago, which beautifully demonstrated the salience of Indian culture. The spirit of his speech has the potential to create a more just, prosperous and inclusive planet”, he tweeted.
Recalling Swami Vivekananda’s iconic 1893 speech at Chicago, which beautifully demonstrated the salience of Indian culture. The spirit of his speech has the potential to create a more just, prosperous and inclusive planet. https://t.co/1iz7OgAWm3
In his speech at the World Religion Conference, Swami Vivekananda addressed the audience as Sisters and Brothers of America. They had spoken about the basic things to follow in life to make it worth living. He mentioned about country’s pride, love towards all religions, science and religion, roots of Hinduism, and other vital things.
On the anniversary 128th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s speech, let’s have a look at the entire speech:
Sisters and Brothers of America.
It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. l thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions, and I thank you in the name of the millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.
My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honor of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration.
I am proud to belong to a religion that has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation that has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth.
I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation.
I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings:
As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to thee.
The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world, of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita:
Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.
Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization, and sent whole nations to despair.
Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time comes; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.
The World’s Parliament of Religions has become an accomplished fact, and the merciful Father has helped those who labored to bring it into existence and crowned with success their most unselfish labor.
My thanks to those noble souls whose large hearts and love of truth first dreamed this wonderful dream and then realized it. My thanks to the shower of liberal sentiments that has overflowed this platform. My thanks to this enlightened audience for their uniform kindness to me and for their appreciation of every thought that tends to smooth the friction of religions.
A few jarring notes were heard from time to time in this harmony. My special thanks to them, for they have, by their striking contrast, made general harmony the sweeter.
Much has been said of the common ground of religious unity. I am not going just now to venture my own theory. But if anyone here hopes that this unity will come by the triumph of any one of the religions and the destruction of the others, to him I say, “Brother, yours is an impossible hope.”
Do I wish that the Christian would become Hindu? God forbid. Do I wish that the Hindu or Buddhist would become Christian? God forbid.
The seed is put in the ground, and earth and air, and water are placed around it. Does the seed become the earth, or the air, or the water? No. It becomes a plant. It develops after the law of its own growth, assimilates the air, the earth, and the water, converts them into plant substances, and grows into a plant.
Similar is the case with religion. The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist to become a Christian. But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law of growth.
If the Parliament of Religions has shown anything to the world, it is this: It has proved to the world that holiness, purity, and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world and that every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character.
In the face of this evidence, if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of the others, I pity him from the bottom of my heart, and point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be written in spite of resistance- Help and not fight, Assimilation and not Destruction, Harmony and Peace and not Dissension.
During his Mann Ki Baat broadcast on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the Sachet app, an innovative alert system developed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Rolled out across India, Sachet harnesses geo-intelligence to provide near-instantaneous disaster warnings through diverse channels like SMS, web browser notifications, and RSS feeds.
The app’s website advises users to stay alert for SMS alerts marked with the “XX-NDMAEW” header. Beyond disaster alerts, Sachet offers weather updates and allows users to track multiple locations, delivering notifications directly to desktops or laptops. Subscribed entities, such as news outlets, can access alerts via RSS feeds to amplify public warnings.
The app has gained significant traction, with roughly 5.4 crore downloads in Uttar Pradesh, 4.6 crore in Delhi, and 1.1 crore in Maharashtra, underscoring its vital role in bolstering disaster readiness.
Modi praised Sachet as a testament to India’s use of technology to empower citizens, ensuring timely information to mitigate risks during emergencies.
The Prime Minister also addressed the tragic Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, which claimed 26 lives, predominantly tourists, in the tranquil Baisaran valley.
The investigation has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), with the Ministry of Home Affairs urging a swift probe into one of the region’s most lethal civilian attacks in nearly two decades.
The NIA, in a press release, outlined its approach: “Under the supervision of senior officers, including an Inspector General, Deputy Inspector General, and Superintendent of Police, our teams are meticulously interviewing eyewitnesses to piece together the chilling sequence of events.”
The agency is delving into granular details to identify the culprits, linked to The Resistance Front, an affiliate of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. As the NIA intensifies its efforts, the focus remains on securing justice and fortifying security, especially with the Amarnath Yatra scheduled to commence on July 3, a time when Kashmir expects a surge in visitors.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has assumed control of the investigation into the devastating Pahalgam terror attack, taking over from the Jammu and Kashmir Police to probe the April 22, 2025, assault that killed 26 tourists, including one Nepali citizen, and injured over three dozen others.
The agency registered a fresh First Information Report (FIR) late Saturday, April 26, following directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalisation (CTCR) division, prompted by the attack’s severity and the involvement of The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which claimed responsibility.
Five days after the attack and four days after an NIA team, led by a Deputy Inspector General, visited the Baisaran meadow attack site near Pahalgam, the agency formally launched its probe. The team had initially supported local police in investigating what is considered the deadliest civilian attack in Jammu and Kashmir in nearly two decades.
The NIA is now tasked with conducting a comprehensive assessment, collecting forensic evidence, and identifying the perpetrators of the 2 p.m. massacre, which shattered the tranquility of a popular tourist destination. Helicopters were deployed to evacuate the wounded, underscoring the scale of the tragedy.
The attack coincides with a surge in tourist arrivals to Kashmir, raising concerns ahead of the 38-day Amarnath Yatra, set to begin on July 3. Against this backdrop, intelligence agencies have compiled a list of 14 local terrorists, aged 20 to 40, actively supporting Pakistan-based operatives with logistics and ground operations.
These individuals, affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen, LeT, and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), include Adil Rehman Dentoo (LeT’s Sopore commander since 2021), Asif Ahmed Sheikh (JeM’s Awantipora commander since 2022), Ahsan Ahmed Sheikh (LeT, Pulwama, since 2023), Haris Nazir (LeT, Pulwama, since 2023), Aamir Nazir Wani (JeM, Pulwama, since 2024), Yawar Ahmed Bhat (JeM, Pulwama, since 2024), Asif Ahmed Khanday (Hizbul Mujahideen, Shopian, since 2015), Naseer Ahmed Wani (LeT, Shopian, since 2019), Shahid Ahmed Kutay (LeT/TRF, Shopian, since 2023), Aamir Ahmed Dar (LeT, Shopian, since 2023), Adnan Safi Dar (LeT/TRF, Shopian, since 2024), Zubair Ahmed Wani (Hizbul Mujahideen’s Anantnag commander since 2018), Haroon Rashid Ganai (Hizbul Mujahideen, Anantnag, trained in PoK in 2018), and Zakir Ahmed Ganie (LeT, Kulgam).
Security forces have intensified operations in South Kashmir, particularly Anantnag and Pulwama, targeting these operatives to disrupt terror networks. The NIA is also exploring links between these 14 individuals and five terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack, including three Pakistani nationals—Asif Fauji, Suleman Shah, and Abu Talha—whose sketches were released earlier, and two local operatives, Adil Guri and Ahsan, with a ₹20 lakh bounty on each.
Terrorists shoot dead social activist Ghulam Rasool in J&K’s Kupwara
His words underscore a growing international consensus on the need for collective action to address the scourge of militancy, particularly as India-Pakistan tensions flare.
In a grim reminder of the region’s fragile security, suspected terrorists shot dead 45-year-old social activist Ghulam Rasool Magray in his home in Kandi Khas, Kupwara district, late Saturday night.
According to officials, the assailants fired at Magray inside his residence, and despite being rushed to a hospital, he was declared dead on arrival. The motive behind targeting the activist remains unclear, deepening the unease in a region still reeling from the recent Pahalgam terror attack.
Authorities have launched an investigation to uncover the circumstances and perpetrators of this brazen killing.
The murder follows the devastating Pahalgam attack on April 22, which claimed 26 lives, mostly tourists, and was attributed to The Resistance Front, a front for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba. In response, security forces have escalated their crackdown on the terror ecosystem. On Saturday night, officials demolished the homes of three active terrorists across Jammu and Kashmir, signaling zero tolerance for militancy. In Shopian’s Wandina, the residence of Adnan Shafi, who joined terrorist ranks in 2024, was razed. In Pulwama, the house of Amir Nazir met a similar fate, while in Bandipora, the home of Jameel Ahmad Shergojri, a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative since 2016, was reduced to rubble. These actions reflect the government’s resolve to dismantle terror networks in the wake of escalating violence.
The Pahalgam attack has reverberated beyond India’s borders, drawing condemnation from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, April 26. In a statement shared on X by Iran’s embassy in New Delhi, Pezeshkian labeled the attack “inhumane” and called for regional solidarity to combat terrorism. “Such tragedies compel nations to unite in empathy and cooperation to uproot terrorism and secure lasting peace,” he said. His words underscore a growing international consensus on the need for collective action to address the scourge of militancy, particularly as India-Pakistan tensions flare.
The killing of Magray comes amid heightened India-Pakistan friction, with New Delhi suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty and Islamabad retaliating by closing its airspace to Indian airlines and threatening to suspend bilateral agreements. Cross-border skirmishes along the Line of Control have intensified, with the Indian Army reporting exchanges of fire for two consecutive nights
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