I Have A Dream

By Martin Luther King Jr.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" [August 28, 1963]

CHANGE HAS COME

November 4, 2008, USA: Democrat Barack Obama has become the first African-American to win the White House. Here are his remarks to a huge crowd in his home city of Chicago:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

PARTNERS IN THE JOURNEY

A little bit earlier this evening I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

I congratulate him, I congratulate Governor Palin, for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the vice-president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both more than you can imagine, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House.

And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure. To my sister Maya, my sister Auma, all my other brothers and sisters - thank you so much for all the support you have given me. I am grateful to them.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best political campaign in the history of the United States of America. My chief strategist David Axelrod, who has been a partner with me every step of the way, and to the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

VICTORY FOR THE PEOPLE

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.

It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; it grew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organised, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

This is your victory.

THE TASK AHEAD

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for their child's college education. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

REMAKING THE NATION

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.

And above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
ONE NATION, ONE PEOPLE

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity.

Those are values that we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours: "We are not enemies, but friends… though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection."

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too.

AMERICA IN THE WORLD

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those who would tear the world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you.

And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

A HISTORY OF STRUGGLE

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the colour of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes, we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes, we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes, we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbour and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes, we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "we shall overcome". Yes, we can.

A man touched down on the Moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes, we can.

THIS IS OUR MOMENT

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: yes, we can.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

Assam sangnaupang te leh NASA astronaut kiho

The Shillong Times (January 7, 2009)

GUWAHATI, ASSAM, INDIA: Van leh Lei kikal ah mipilten leitung thu, vantung aksite thu a sinna ding uh khawlmun, ahih kei leh ‘bu’ bawl uh a, tua pen International Space Station (ISS) ci uh hi. Lei pan 350 Km a sang huihlak ah om a, bawmpi bangin a sung hawm in, bukno khat bangin a sungah giah theih hi. Leilak pan ‘Rocket’ ci-a i cih ziau, tu hun ciang spacecraft a cih uh ‘huihlak a khualzinna’ tawh lengto-in ISS ah leitung vantung aksite thu sinin ni tampipi tam uh hi. Tua banga a sem, a tam laitak NASA, USA vangtungkahmi (astronaut) Edward Michael (Mike) Fincke leh India, Guwahati khuapi a Asom Jatiya Vidyalaya high school sangnaupangte melmuhloh tongsan (telephone) tawh January 7, 2009 niin kiho kha phophot uh hi.

Vangtungkahmi (astronaut) Edward Michael (Mike) Fincke pen US Air Force ah colonel hi a, ama makaihna tawh Vaikuan 18na (Expedition 18) a kuan, ISS ah a tam laitak uh hi. ISS pen gam 16 kipawl in sum US dollar billion 100 bei-a a bawl uh, kum 1998 pan kipan tuni dong a hoihzaw dinga a behlaplap laitak uh hi. California leilu lama NASA phualpi vaisaina tawh sangnaupang 14 (n 7, p 7) in dotna 14 dong uh a, minit 10 sungin Mike in a ‘bu’ sungpan telephone tawh dawng hi. A thu dotte uh pilvai mahmah hi. Tua holimna pen sangnaupang tul khat val leh a nu leh pate un a zak theihna dingin 'Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters' (FASS) te in paungaihna thuahsak uh hi.

India nitak nai 1:30 a kipan a, tomno sungin beipah hi. Naupangte dotna a dawnna ah - a ‘bu’ sungah a nasep dan (research work) leh a gamtat luhek dan (life style), leihupna omlo a kilaam/kikhai mun ah (zero gravity) bangci nuntak, gamtang hiam cihte naupang tel theih dingin limtak in dawng hi.

A kihona uh a za mite a thalawpsak mahmah khat pen Mike in a tawpna ah, "Moi alap alap Asomiya Kobo paro (Assam pau tawm pauthei ing)" a cih pen hi, kici hi. Mike zi Assam nungak Renita Saikia hi a; a ‘bu’ sungah a tawlngak kawmin a sung’te pau sin zel hih tuak hi. Azi in NASA munpi Houston, Texas, USA ah nasem hi.

A kihona uh tomlak hih bang hi:-

Q 1. Mridusmita: Na ‘bu’ sung leh a pua a kilamdanna bang hiam?
Mike: A pua lam pen huih omlo, a hawmpi (vacuum) hi a, vot mahmah, khuamialcip hi. ISS sung bel innsung bang hi a, lum in nuam mahmah hi. Temperature 24 degree Celsius in kikoih hi.

Q 2. Sweta: Spaceship sungah tui bangci kikem hiam?
Mike: Limtak in kem ung. Huih lutlo dingin sincip ung. Oxygen kibawltawm a, carbon dioxide khaihsiang zel ung (re-cyle CO2).

Q3. Priyanka: Bang an ne? Ann kihuan thei hiam? Ann kilumsak thei hiam?
Mike: Ann ngeina moh, sa kan, singgah, etc. mah ne ung. Ann kihuan theilo ahih manin a kitunsa vive lei pan kipua hi.

Q 4. Prajna: A ki ihmu thei hiam? Bang hun a lum, bang hun a tho? Bang nai zang na hi uh hiam?
Mike: Nuam tak, ihmut ngeina bangin ki ihmu thei hi. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) nai mah zuiin, nai 24 sungin nitak nai 10 in lum, zingsang nai 6 in tho ung.

Q 5. Mahendra: Tui nek ding koi pan ngah?
Mike: Leilak mah bangin tui kizang hi. Khatveivei ka bawltawm uh a, khat veivei ka khaihsiang uh hi. Zun pan zong tui dawn ding kikhaihsiang hi.

Q6. Abhrakash: Na kisil thei uh hiam? Tui kai mah kizang hiam?
Mike: Tui haksa ahih manin tui kai lo a, puankawt tawh kinul siang ung.

Q7. Anamita: Ni suahna ni tumna na tel khialh hun uh a om hiam? Bangci thei kik?
Mike: Leihupna omlohna (zero gravity) ah kimangngilh kha zel mah hi. Ahi zongin ka tuanna uh ISS space station pen ni suah, ni tum nalam tawh kizawi dingin amah leh amah kihei tawmtawm hi.

Q 8. Nirvan: Leilaka khuahun kikhek – tuk, phalbi, khuakhal cihte na thei thei uh hiam? Leilak a omte muh theih na nei uh hiam?
Mike: Khuahun kikhek kimu thei hi. Leilu ah phalbi hun leh leitaw ah khuakhal hunte kimu thei hi. Great Wall of China leh a dang leilak a om a gol pipite kimu thei hi.

Q 9. Tridip: Tu laitak ISS ah bang pilna lam sin na hi uh hiam?
Mike: Nasep 120 – 130 khawng zota ung. Tua lak ah ‘tui luanzia’ (fluid physics) leh leihupna mihing pumpi in a kisapna thute kihel hi (effect of gravity on human body).

Q 10. Vaishali: Na nasep uh bang phattuamna om ding hiam?
Mike: Hih ISS sungah mi guk a om theihna dinga a kek, a golsak a hanciam hi ung; tu laitak mi thum bek ki-om thei hi.

Q 11. Chiranjib: Na tawldam kawm un bang hih? TV na en thei uh hiam? Radio na ngai thei uh hiam?
Mike: Tawldam kisam pha peuhmah hi. TV khawng, movie khawng ki en thei a, laibu (electronic book) khawng ka sim uh hi.

Q 12. Gitartha: Ni khat in ni suak, ni tum bangzah kimu hiam?
Mike: Ni khat in ni suak 16vei, ni tum 16vei kimu hi. Ko pen nai khat a 26,000 Km tungman dinga leng ka hih man un minit 90 sungin leitung khatvei ki kimvial den hi.

Q. 13: Adnan: Na cidamna uh bangci kep? Tha lakna cih khawng a om hiam?
Mike: Ni khat in nai nih sungta thalakna kinei a, siksakol tuan khawng kilim zat pen (cycling). Doctor pen ka kisap uh leh leilak a omte telephone tawh ka hopih ziau uh hi.

Q 14. Dhrubajyoti: Na ‘bu’ sungah Assam pau sin cih ka za vua, 'Apuni Asomiya kobo pareneki (Assam pau na pau siam hiam?)’
Mike: Nui bua bua kawm in, ‘ka dawn nop pen hi ei!’, ci. "Moi Alap Alap Asomiya kobo paro (He, Assam pau tawm pau thei)."

[Om muan a ka tei pak hi, free translation]
*******beita*******

Khuado Pawi 2008 New Delhi a Khaninte Hencipna leh Thuphapiakna Kammalte

By Rev. Peter Khen

KHANINTE HAWLKHIATNA

Kolose 2:14-15, 3:17, Matthai 18:18

Ka khuhpi, ka phahpi, ka khangneel, ka saitaak, ka livei, ka tuipi tungnung, ka tuipi nuainung, a khang masa, a khang nunung, lusum paaktawng, meigong-tagah a hong koih, mimci, taangci, gataam, kaikhum, simbaal, zobal, hong peh sak a, ka tuinaak uh hong nin sak zinleng, kauleng, phazaai dawi aw, ka lungzaai, Pasian Zeisu Khazih min tawh hong hencip ingh. Na thuak ding a lauhuai mahmah Pasian thukhenna tokhom mai, Zeisu min tawh kong denna hi.

MAWHSUTNA

Hosea 6:1

Phui tung, phui nuai, sam khialhna, ciampel, ton leh aih, gawh leh lup, gal aih sa aih, gisuang khinna, zawlthu tawh khialhna, khut khialh baan khialh, kolsung pan n’ong suahtak sak nang in Zeisu min in thumna kong nei uh hi.

THUPHAPIAKNA

Maangmuhna 5:10

Bilvaakna, teina, lolna, kumpi, siampi, mimci, taangci, simguah, zoguah thupha,Zomite tungah a tawntung in Zeisu min tawh zu tawntung ta hen, amen!

Kha nasepna kammal lawh dante taanglai siampite lawh tawh a ki bat lian lohna om kha ding ahih man in, ih telsiam kim tek ding hong lamen ingh. Hih lai hong sim sak mimal, u-le-nau leh ih minam a ding in thupha hong suak hen la, “A neu pen leh naungekte a mau makai leh a uk dingin ka tel hi”, a ci Pasian’ kammal (Isaiah 3:4) leh, “Kumpiza leh siampiza ka pia a, leitung a luah ding uh hi”, (Mangmuhna 5:10) a cih bangin Zomite gamh dingin hong kip ta hen. Amen.