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Mahabharata metaphor for India’s ‘missile shield’ in Modi address

PM Modi announced the Sudarshan Chakra Mission to enhance India's security by 2035, integrating advanced tech for protection of vital locations.

Updated on: Aug 15, 2025, 16:29:43 IST
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New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort on 79th Independence Day, in New Delhi on Friday. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort on 79th Independence Day, in New Delhi on Friday. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday vowed to provide a “complete shield of protection” to the nation’s most vital locations, from strategic installations to civilian spaces such as hospitals and faith centres, by 2035. Drawing from the epic Mahabharata, he invoked Lord Krishna’s divine discus to announce the Sudarshan Chakra Mission, a sweeping initiative aimed at strengthening India’s security architecture.

“During the war of the Mahabharat, Lord Krishna’s Sudarshan Chakra obstructed the sunlight helped Arjuna to fulfil his oath to kill Jayadratha. Drawing inspiration from that, the country will now launch Sudarshan Chakra Mission,” PM Modi declared in his Independence Day address.

Modi said the mission would fuse advanced surveillance, interception and counter-attack capabilities to swiftly neutralise threats. “It will have a system which will function a step ahead of all possible attacks in the future,” he said, adding that the entire programme, from research and development to manufacturing, would be fully indigenous.

According to Modi, the mission will also focus on developing a system for targeted and precise action, integrating cutting-edge technologies to create a powerful, multi-layered defence shield around critical points across the country.

This “complete security” push can be drawn parallels between the upcoming system and Israel’s famed Iron Dome, the multi-layered defence network credited with intercepting thousands of rockets from Hamas and Hezbollah since its deployment in the 2010s.

India already has a Integrated Air Command and Control System that acted as a shield against Pakistan’s missiles during Operation Sindoor.

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