PM Modi urges people to build new India on Independence Day

By K V Prasad

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the country for the 10th time on the occasion of the 77th Independence Day and urged the people to dedicate themselves in the task of building a new India with the aim of transforming the country in the next two decades. If the country has to become a developed India by 2047, everyone must live by the mantra of ‘Shreshtha Bharat’ and characterise it.

In a departure from the usual practice of addressing people as My Dear Citizens (Mere Pyare Deshvasiyon) or Brothers and Sisters (Bhaiyon aur Behano), PM Modi chose to adopt a more inclusive My Dear Family Members (Mere Pyare Parivarjano). The choice of the word, in one way, accommodated the larger Indian family including the diaspora who have played a significant role in building India.

Mr. Modi became the second Prime Minister after Dr. Manmohan Singh to have the honour of speaking from the Ramparts of the Red Fort for ten times in a row. In his latest essay, PM Modi captured the achievements of his government during the last nine years and how it plans to work on a different growth path to ensure that India and its generation enjoy a bright future.

“I am witnessing another opportunity before our country, a time when we are living in such a period, when we have entered such an era. It is our good fortune that either we are living in youth or we have taken birth in the lap of Mother India in the first year of ‘Amrit Kaal’. And mark my words, my dear family members, the actions we take, the steps we take, the sacrifices we make, the penance we undertake in this era will define our legacy”, he said during his 100-odd minute address.

Task ahead

As India approaches the next milestone of 100 years of its Independence in 2047, PM Modi reminded that the next few years christened as ‘Amrit Kaal’ a bright future awaits the country and its people. Visualising India to emerge as one of the developed countries by then, PM Modi said India is blessed with three streams – Democracy, Demography and Diversity. These factors were taking the India growth story beyond the confines of metro and mega cities of the country.

Talking of demographic dividend that India has, he said today while countries around the world were witnessing an age structure that is growing old, India is moving forward with energy generated by its young population. India has the highest population before the age of 30 years and endowed with crores of young hands, brains, dreams and resolutions to march ahead.

Underscoring that during the tenure of his government, the country leapfrogged to become the fifth largest economy, from the 10th spot it was when it assumed office in 2014, PM Modi chose to credit people for the immense faith reposed in him to achieve what the government did.

Apportioning more credit to people for putting in hard work which made a difference, he reminded the youth that immense opportunities await to launch themselves. As a measure of this mood, the obvious reference was to start-ups and the number of Unicorns that have sprung in the country.

The world needs youth power, youth skill, he said and that was why his government created a separate ministry for skill development. This would not only fulfill the needs of India, but also fulfill the needs of the world.

“In the coming five years, India will be in the top three economies. This is Modi’s guarantee”, the PM said to underscore the trust people placed in him and his work to deliver. The mood of the country was to leave behind the old way of thinking, setting sights on new objectives and working.

Yet, as the country embarked on its onward journey, PM Modi reminded that the country always pursued a human centric approach to development. The confidence with which India is marching ahead, there are no lingering doubts about its future, either in the minds of its people or the world.

PM Modi expressed his distress over the violence in Manipur and attacks on the dignity of women, he noted that people were maintaining peace for some time and asked the process to be carried forward.

Recounting the advancement of technology for everyday use, PM Modi narrated that world leaders were curious to understand and learn the nuances of the success of the ‘Digital India’ programme. Leaders were in awe of Indian talent and youth through which the country achieved not just in big cities but tier-2 and tier-3 cities, who were shaping the country.

Making a mention of how the world view of the situation changed after the Corona pandemic, PM Modi said he believes that just as a new world order emerged after World War II, a new global order and geo-political equation was coming up. All interpretations and definitions of new geo-political equations were changing and during this period, the world has witnessed what India can do.

A decade of dedicated work

Giving an account of work in the last 10 years, PM Modi said statistics reflect the picture of this growth. For instance, the government today was transferring Rs 100 lakh crore to the States, a figure that stood at Rs 30 lakh crores in 2014. The budget for building houses for the poor rose four times from Rs. 90,000 crores.

The effect of these and many other welfare schemes resulted in lifting 13.5 crore people from poverty and entering the middle class. “When poverty reduces in the country, the power of the middle-class section of the country increases manifold. And I assure you that in the coming five years, Modi guarantees that the country will be among the top three world economies; it certainly will be. Today the 13.5 crore people who have come out of poverty have in a way become the middle-class. When the purchasing power of the poor increases, the power of the middle class to carry out business grows too. When the purchasing power of the villages increases, the financial system of the town and city runs at a faster pace. And our economic cycle is interconnected. We want to move ahead by strengthening it”.

Elaborating on his accent on production and quality manufacturing in the country, PM said in 2014, he gave a call for ‘Zero Defect, Zero Effect’. “ If there’s a “Made in India” product on any table in the world, the world should have confidence that there is nothing better than this. This will be ultimate. Be it our produce, our services, our words, our institutions, or our decision-making processes, everything will be supreme. Only then can we carry forward the essence of excellence.”

Emphasising that his government had resolved to accomplish something that has been under discussion for decades, he said , now stood in the form of a new Parliament building which was ready and that he ensured the project was delivered ahead of time. “This is a government that works, a government that surpasses the set targets, this is a new India, this is an India full of self-confidence, this is an India that is working hard to make its resolutions a reality. And so, this India is unstoppable, this India is tireless, this India does not gasp and this India does not give up. And that’s why, my dear family members, with economic prowess our labour force has got new strength, our borders have become more secure than before and the soldiers are minding the borders.”

PM Modi extended congratulations to the soldiers who were safeguarding the borders and the uniformed forces who maintain internal security, he said the country’s military must be modernised, empowered, remain young and be battle-ready.

Women power

Contribution of women in this growth journey, PM Modi said this power will propel the country towards further progress. India, he said, can take pride to have the highest number of women pilots in the world, and be it the lunar mission Chandrayaan or other critical scientific research, women are playing a leading role.

Speaking of women’s and respect for gender, he said during a visit to a country where a very senior minister asked him, “Do your daughters study science and engineering subjects?” I told him that today in my country more daughters than boys are taking up STEM i.e. Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. It was surprising for him to know that my daughters are taking maximum part in it. This capability of our country is visible today.”

Today 10 crore women are involved in women self-help groups and if one visits a village with women self-help groups, one can find bank didis (sisters), Anganwadi didis with and didis who distribute medicines. And now my dream is to create a base of 2 crore lakhpati didis in the villages. And now we have new options for the same i.e., science and technology. I can see the potential of the women in our villages and that’s why I am thinking of a new scheme. That will provide training to the sisters of Women Self Help Group with the integration of technology in our agriculture sector thereby strengthening our agritech. We will give skill training to women and train them to operate as well as repair drones. The Government of India will provide drones to thousands of such Women Self Help Groups

Hoary past

On the occasion, he reminded, it was also important to pay respects to the brave sons and daughters of the country who fought valiantly to free the country from colonial rule. In fact, the PM said that in 1947, the country was freed of 1,000 years of subjugation of foreign rule and the Amrit Kaal should be the foundation for a thousand years of glory for India and Indians.

“Such incidents change the fate of the country. This power changes the destiny of the country. We are at the milestone between 1000 years of slavery and 1000 years of grand future that is about to come. We are at this crossroads and hence we cannot stop, nor shall we live in a dilemma anymore.”

The Non-cooperation/Civil Disobedience and Satyagraha Movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, brave hearts like Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, and their generation, there will hardly be any person who has not contributed to the independence of the country.

August 15, is also the 150th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo, the great revolutionary and pioneer of spiritual life. It is also the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Dayanand Saraswati. This year our nation is going to celebrate with great fervour, the 500th birth anniversary of the iconic women warrior Rani Durgawati. The country will also be remembering the premier of ‘bhakti and yog’ Meerabai, on the occasion of 525th years of her life immersed in spiritualism.

India will be celebrating a milestone of 75th year of Republic on January 26, next year and there can be no bigger day to commit to national development, with new inspirations, new consciousness, new resolutions, as the country opens up immense possibilities and opportunities

“Such incidents change the fate of the country. This power changes the destiny of the country. We are at the milestone between 1000 years of slavery and 1000 years of grand future that is about to come. We are at this crossroads and hence we cannot stop, nor shall we live in a dilemma anymore.”