In plain words
When the craze for the English language took hold, the knowledge of our own faith grew thin; when the knowledge of our own faith grew thin, the feeling for refinement faded away; when the feeling for refinement faded away, the value of being human went up in smoke; as soon as the value of being human faded away, the greatness of Bhārata was broken. So even now, open your eyes and see with understanding, O people of Bhārata! What more than this can I make known, O members of this gathering, counted among the good and virtuous!
This is a land of merit, a land of sacrifice, the holy land where mothers devoted to their husbands were born.
She who brought her lifeless husband back to life: was not Sāvitrī a wife of Bhārata? She who quenched a forest fire by the power of her Satya: was not Candramatī a holy woman? She who leapt into the fire-pit for her honour as a wife of noble line: was not Sītā a daughter born of the earth of Bhārata? She who in anger burnt the arrogant hunter to ash: was not Damayantī a woman of Bhārata? This earth, girdled by an ocean of sattva, is made spotless by the wifely faithfulness of the race of Bharata; it is a great harvest field for the wealth of feeling; is it not the teacher of all lands!