Union Budget 2025: A look at poetic touches in finance ministers' speeches

Union Budget 2025: Here's a look at how finance ministers have infused poetic and cultural references/ quotes in their speeches

India’s Union Budget speeches have long served as a platform to present fiscal policies and share the government’s vision. Over the years, Finance Ministers have often included thoughtful quotes from poets, philosophers, and even pop culture to highlight key messages.

 

From Manmohan Singh quoting Iqbal to Nirmala Sitharaman evoking the imagery of a blooming Shalimar Bagh, these speeches have blended policy announcements with cultural references, adding a unique touch to India’s financial narrative.

 

Manmohan Singh: Ushering in an era of change

 

Manmohan Singh, the architect of India’s economic liberalisation in the 1990s, delivered one of the most consequential Budget speeches in 1991. At 18,650 words, it remains the longest in history. Yet, it wasn’t just its length that made it memorable. Singh’s use of Urdu poet Allama Iqbal’s verses struck a chord: 

 

“Yunan-o-Misr-o-Roma sab mit gaye jahan se ab tak magar, hai baki naam-o-nishan hamara...”

 

[Translation: Greek, Egyptians, and Romans have all vanished, but we are still here. There must be something special that we still exist despite the whole world being against us.]

 

He also quoted Victor Hugo’s timeless line: “No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come.” These words embodied the transformative vision of India’s shift to a market-driven economy.

 

In 1992, Singh again drew from poetry, quoting Muzaffar Razmi:  “Kuchh aise bhee manzar hain taareekh ki nazron mein, Lamhon ne khataa ki thi, sadiyon ne sazaa paayee.”

 

[Translation: Even this has happened in history; mistakes made in moments created trouble for centuries.]  ALSO READ: Budget 2025: Old versus new tax regime sparks debate on which one to choose

 

Yashwant Sinha: Battling storms with courage 

As Finance Minister during the BJP-led government (1999-2002), Yashwant Sinha used metaphors to emphasise the necessity of facing challenges head-on. One of his most iconic quotes, likely inspired by poetry, was:  

 

“Taqaazaa hai waqt kaa ke toofaan se joojho,  

Kahaan tak chaloge kinaare kinaare.”

 

[Translation: The times require you to fight the storms. How long will you keep walking on the shore?]

 

Jaswant Singh: A focus on the people 

Succeeding Sinha, Jaswant Singh emphasised the welfare of ordinary citizens. His 2003 Budget speech featured this heartfelt line:  

 

“Garib ke pet mein dana

 

 Grihini ki tukia mein anna.”

 

[Translation: Food in the belly of the poor, and money in the purse of the homemaker.] 

This simple yet powerful statement highlighted the BJP government’s commitment to social welfare, even amid economic challenges.

 

P Chidambaram: Wisdom from the ages 

Congress stalwart P Chidambaram consistently sought inspiration from literature and philosophy. His admiration for Saint Thiruvalluvar was evident as he quoted him almost every year. In one memorable instance, he cited:  

 

“Kalangathu kanda vinaikkan thulangkathu thookkang kadinthu seyal.”

 

[Translation: What clearly eye discerns as right, with steadfast will and mind unslumbering, that should man fulfil.]

 

In 2006-07, Chidambaram turned to Henry David Thoreau to emphasise the importance of ambition: “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

 

He also quoted Swami Vivekananda, reinforcing the idea of self-determination: “We are the makers of our own fate. The wind is blowing; those vessels whose sails are unfurled catch it, and go forward on their way.”

 

Arun Jaitley: Champions of a new era 

Arun Jaitley’s Budget speeches were peppered with motivational lines that reflected the government’s aspirations. His 2017-18 speech included this soaring statement:  “When my aim is true, when my goal is in sight, the winds favour me, and I soar.”

 

A recurring theme in Jaitley’s addresses was resilience. In 2014-15, he said:   “Kuchh to gul khilaye hain, kuchh abhi khilaane hain, 

 

Par baagh mein ab bhi kaante kuchh puraane hain.”

 

[Translation: We have made some flowers bloom, and there are more yet to bloom. But there are still some old thorns in the garden.]

 

In 2017, he poignantly recited:  

 

“Kashti chalaane walon ne jab haar kar di patwar hamein, 

Lehar lehar toofan mile aur mauj mauj manjdhaar humein. 

Phir bhi dikhaya hai humne aur phir yeh dikha denge sabko, 

In halato mein aata hai daria karna paar humein.”

 

[Translation: When the sailors steering the boat handed us the oar in defeat, we encountered storms and rapids at every turn]

 

Jaitley’s words captured the NDA government’s resolve to navigate economic turbulence.

 

Nirmala Sitharaman: A nation blooming with aspirations

 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has brought a poetic flourish to her speeches, reflecting a deep connection to India’s cultural heritage. In her 2019-20 Budget speech, she quoted Urdu poet Manzoor Hashmi:  

 

“Yaqin ho to koi rasta nikalta hai 

 

Hawa ki ot bhi le kar chirag jalta hai.”

 

[Translation: You can find a way if you have faith in yourself, just as an earthen lamp can also light up despite air blowing around.]

 

In 2020, after the abrogation of Article 370, she invoked Kashmiri poet Pandit Dina Nath Kaul:  

“Hamara vatan, khilte hue Shalimar Bagh jaisa 

Hamara vatan, Dal jheel main khilte hue kamal jaisa 

Nau-jawanon ke garam khoon jaisa 

Mera vatan, tera vata, hamara vatan 

Duniya ka sabse pyaara vatan.”

 

[Translation: Our country is like a blooming Shalimar Bagh, like the lotus in Dal Lake, and like the fiery blood of our youth.]

 

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, Sitharaman turned to Rabindranath Tagore for inspiration:  

 

‘Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark’.