Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tributes to freedom fighters, added “sabka prayas” (effort by all) to his “sabka saath” slogan, described the youth as the “can-do generation” and asked them to take the country forward.
Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort to mark the start of the 75th year of independence, Modi urged people to strive collectively (sabka prayas) to take the country to new heights by the 100th year of independence.
Beyond such exhortations and slogans, however, his speech contained little by way of a road map for the future.
“The journey of the next 25 years is the divine period of the creation of a new India,” the Prime Minister said.
“Aaj Lal Kile se main avhan kar raha hoon: Sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas aur sabka prayas hamare har lakshyon ki prapti ke liye bahut mahatwapurn hai (I’m urging you from the Red Fort today: Solidarity with all, development for all, trust from all and effort by all are very important for us to reach all our goals),” he said.
Modi had begun his speech by remembering the freedom fighters. He referred to the pain of Partition and reiterated that his government would observe August 14 as “Partition Horrors Remembrance Day” — a decision announced on Saturday that many saw as an attempt to polarise people by taking a dig at Pakistan.
Modi played up his government’s schemes and spoke of expanding their reach, referring to “100 per cent India” and “saturation”.
“Now we have to move towards saturation. We have to make sure that 100 per cent villages have roads, 100 per cent households have bank accounts, 100 per cent beneficiaries have Ayushman Bharat cards and 100 per cent of those eligible have a gas connection,” he said.
Modi announced a PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan for holistic infrastructure development to help local manufacturers turn globally competitive.
“All manufacturers should target the global market. India should become the hub of the global market,” he said, adding that this would generate huge employment opportunities.
In his Independence Day speech last year, too, Modi had spoken of turning India into a global manufacturing hub. His slogan then had been “Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India)”.
Claiming that his government had brought remarkable changes to the lives of the deprived sections, the Prime Minister announced a plan to introduce fortified rice for the poor under various schemes.
Experts had recently cautioned that a government proposal for mandatory fortification of rice with iron to combat anaemia was based on flawed assumptions and haemoglobin measurements, and could harm segments of the population through excessive iron intake.
Citing climate change, Modi announced a national hydrogen mission: “We have to make India a hub for the production and export of green hydrogen.”
Green hydrogen is a hydrogen-produced fuel that is made from renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels.
Modi announced 75 Vande Bharat trains that would connect every corner of the country, and said Sainik schools would be opened for girls too.
He referred briefly to the devastation caused by the pandemic before moving on to more upbeat themes.
Some 32 Indian athletes who had participated in the Tokyo Olympics had been invited to the event: Modi called on the nation to applaud them and held them up as a symbol of the country’s youth power.
“My faith is in the country’s youth. My faith is in the country’s sisters, daughters, farmers and professionals. This is a can-do generation; they can achieve every goal,” Modi said.
He wound up with a poem that suggested that India’s time had come.