On Independence Day, India strengthens its aim to lead the world

India has witnessed a social, economic, and digital transformation under the current government's leadership

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi will deliver his tenth address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on this Independence Day. Before the British altered it after 1857, this was neither the original name nor the colour of this magnificent 17th-century edifice. Barring 1947, every Indian PM on Independence Day has adhered to the tradition of addressing the nation from this fort, a symbol of spirited rebellion against the British. Recognising and respecting this significance, PM Modi instituted Red Fort museums dedicated to the 1857 revolt, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army.

New India, is steadily striding in the right direction to become a vishwaguru, when we commemorate the centennial of our Independence.(Photo by Naveed Ahmed on Unsplash)

United States (US) President Franklin Roosevelt’s fireside chats helped calm his nation during the Great Depression while British PM Winston Churchill’s wartime oratory reassured his people. For PM Modi, his Red Fort speeches serve as an instrument of a higher purpose to engage in dialogue over deeper social issues and forge a national narrative. Modi’s inaugural address in 2014 was the first ever by a PM born in independent India. Breaking convention, he addressed the people from an open podium instead of a bulletproof enclosure, and halted his motorcade to greet school children, reflecting his intent to directly connect with people.

Over the past decade, many transformative themes have emerged from these speeches. Remarking that people may be shocked that a PM was talking about toilets from the Red Fort, Modi expressed how pained he was at the indignity suffered by our mothers and sisters due to open defecation. Be it giving a clarion call to build an India where the poor would have a pucca house with electricity and water, or highlighting the obligation to ensure affordable and quality health care, he felt empowering the poor would transform India’s economic destiny.

Recalling a two-year drought endured by our farmers, he rhetorically asked if there was anybody who could have a more pious heart or hands than a farmer. In the midst of the pandemic when global supply chains were getting choked, he emphasised that like agriculture, India should be self-reliant in sectors such as space. The distinct narrative emerging out of the PM’s speeches became a guiding force for the government’s policy and programmes. Today, Swachh Bharat Mission has built over 110 million toilets. A hundred million fake beneficiaries have been removed and 495 million people have Jan Dhan bank accounts with 55% being women. Nearly 30 million citizens have geotagged cement houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and 120 million households access arsenic-free drinking water under the Jal Jeevan Scheme. The PM Kisan Samman Scheme has disbursed about ₹2.24 lakh crore to 115 million small farmers; 550 million Indians are covered by a social security net of affordable pension and insurance while 135 million Indians have been moved out of multi-dimensional poverty.

With a conviction to change the status quo, PM Modi began forging a national narrative from the Red Fort. Consequently, India has not only witnessed a tectonic social, economic, and digital transformation but also a cultural renaissance. Today, we are the fifth largest economy in the world with a Gross Domestic Product of $3.75 trillion. Chandrayaan-3 has now entered the lunar orbit while we have launched the indigenous 12nm NavIC chip, providing Indian GPS capabilities.

The Ram temple in Ayodhya will be inaugurated in January whereas heritage theft has been reversed. For the first time in 75 years, a made-in-India gun was used for the ceremonial 21-gun salute on Independence Day and women cadets have been commissioned into our Army’s artillery regiment. The Modi government has presciently embarked on becoming self-reliant in semiconductor technology, whereas a national masterplan for holistic infrastructure has been unveiled.

In his first Red Fort address PM Modi cited Samgacchadhvam, from Rig Veda, which means ‘Let Us Move Together’. Guided by the mantra of antyodaya, the past decade has seen the empowerment of all sections of society, through the non-discriminatory and honest delivery of schemes.

With 2047 as the lofty goal, the PM last year affirmed panch pran (five resolutions) for all Indians. New India, is steadily striding in the right direction to become a vishwaguru, when we commemorate the centennial of our Independence.

CR Kesavan, former member of the Prasar Bharati Board, is with the BJP. The views expressed are personal