Tossed summarily from a train,
Gandhi reset his glasses;
A vision dawned, and the Empire
Began to count its losses.
However thwarted, Chaplin, Brecht
Said what they had to say;
Chaplin and Brecht are still with us,
The Fuhrer has gone his way.
Put away for a quarter century
Alone in an island jail,
Mandela stayed captain of his soul,
And his truth saw an evil fail.
Rosa sat in a hands-off bus,
Strong in her human truth;
Driven by that simple epiphany,
The black went to the polling booth.
Our own Ambedkar has not failed,
The future belongs to him;
His truth gathers a legion of democrats
Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Muslim.
Leaders whom his Constitution installs
On the highest pedestal
Know the power of democracy
Among those they think they rule.
Badri Raina