PM Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech attacked corruption and ‘Parivaarvaad’ in India.
Speaking from the Red Fort in Delhi as celebrates India’s 75th year of Independence.
Following are the highlights from his speech:
Compliments to my dear countrymen on the momentous occasion of completion of 75 years of independence. Many congratulations to all! It is heartening to see our tricolour being unfurled with pride, honour and glory, not only at all the corners of India, but also worldwide by our Indians who love their country immensely.
All the countrymen are deeply indebted to Pujya Bapu, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Veer Savarkar, who devoted all their life on the path of duty towards the nation. The path of obligation has been their sole life path.
This country is grateful to Mangal Pandey, Tantya Tope, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru, Chandrashekhar Azad, Ashfaq Ulla Khan, Ram Prasad Bismil and countless such revolutionaries of ours who shook the foundations of British rule. This nation is grateful to those brave women, be it Rani Lakshmibai, Jhalkari Bai, Durga Bhabhi, Rani Gaidinliu, Rani Chennamma, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Velu Nachiyar, who showed the mettle of women power of India.
Today is an opportunity to pay homage to countless such great men like Dr. Rajendra Prasad ji, Nehru ji, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Deendayal Upadhyay, Jai Prakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Nanaji Deshmukh, Subramania Bharati who fought the war of independence and built the country after independence.
When we talk about the freedom struggle, we cannot forget to take pride of our tribal society living in forests. There are countless names like Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Sidhu-Kanhu, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Govind Guru, who became the voice of freedom movement and inspired my tribal brothers and sisters, mothers and youth in the remotest jungles to live and die for the motherland. It has been the good fortune of the country that there have been many aspects of the freedom struggle.
From the last year, we are witnessing how the country is celebrating the ‘Amrit Mahotsav’. It all began with Dandi Yatra in 2021. The people held programs in every district, every corner of India to enlarge the scope of goals of the ‘Amrit Mahotsav’ of Independence. This was perhaps for the first time in history that such a huge and comprehensive festival for a single purpose was celebrated.
An attempt was made in every corner of India to remember all those great men who did not find mention in history for some reasons or who were forgotten. Today, the nation found out all such heroes and great men from every corner of the country and paid tributes to them for their sacrifices. It was an opportunity to pay tributes to all these great men during the ‘Amrit Mahotsav’.
Today, as we are celebrating the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, it is an opportunity to recall the contributions made by those who dedicated their lives for the country during the last 75 years, those who protected the country and fulfilled the country’s resolutions; be it the army personnel, police personnel, bureaucrats, public representatives, administrators of the local self-government, state administration or central administration. Today we must also recall the contributions made by the crores of citizens of the country who have done everything possible to take the country forward despite various challenges in 75 years.
This journey of 75 years has been full of ups and downs. Amidst good and bad times our countrymen have made various achievements; they have made efforts and have not given up. They didn’t let the resolutions to get lost.
The world was not cognizant that India has an inherent potential of strong culture and values, a bond of thoughts deeply embedded in mind and soul; and that is – that India is a mother of all democracy. And when those who have democracy pulsating in their mind walk with determination and resolve, it augurs doom for the most powerful sultanates of the world. This Mother of Democracy, our India has proven to all that we have this invaluable strength.
In the journey of 75 years, in the midst of hopes, aspirations, ups and downs, it is with everyone’s effort that we could reach thus far. And when in 2014, my countrymen gave me this responsibility, I was the first Indian born in free India, who got the privilege to sing praises of glory to my dear countrymen from the ramparts of the historical Red Fort.
From the farthest of latitudes and longitudes of India-east or west, north or south, ocean beds or Himalayan peaks, I have left no stone unturned to reach the corners and fulfil Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of inclusion. I have committed myself to his vision of empowering and uplifting the person sitting at the last mile.
We are embarking on the glorious years of 75 years today on AMRIT MAHOTSAV. On the first morn of 76th year, I am filled with pride to see such an immensely endowed nation.
Every citizen of the country wants to change things, wants to see things change, but is not ready to wait. He wants these things to happen in front of his eyes and wants to do it as part of his duty. And I believe whether it is the central government, state governments, institutions of local self-government, no matter what kind of governance system, everyone has to address this aspirational society and we cannot wait longer for their aspirations.
Our aspiration society has waited for a long time. But now they are not ready to force their future generations to live in wait and hence the first dawn of this ‘Amrit Kaal’ has brought a huge golden opportunity for us to fulfil the aspirations of that aspiration society.
Recently, we have seen and experienced one or two such forces and that is the collective consciousness renaissance in India. I think that this awakening of consciousness, this renaissance, is our greatest asset. Until 10th August, people would not even be aware of the power within the country. But for the last three days, the way the country has set about celebrating the journey of the Tricolour, even the leading experts of social science can’t imagine the power within my country which has been shown by the Tricolour.
The world is looking at India proudly and with anticipation. The world has started searching for solutions to the problems on the soil of India. This change in the world, this change in the thinking of the world, is the result of our experienced journey of 75 years.
The world has started realising where the power to fulfil the expectations actually lies. I see it as a feminine power. I see it as triple power or tri-shakti, i.e. aspiration, re-awakening and the world’s expectations. We are aware that to fulfil it, today, my countrymen have a major role in awakening this trust of the world in India.
130 crore countrymen after several decades of experience have shown the world the importance of a stable government, the power of political stability, policies and how trust develops in the policies. The world too is now able to understand it. And now when there is political stability, dynamism in policies, speed in decision making, ubiquity and universal trust, then everyone becomes a partner in development.
We started our journey with the mantra of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, but gradually the countrymen have added more colours to it with Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas. So, we have seen our collective power and collective potential.
Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is being celebrated with the campaign to build 75 Amrit Sarovars in every district today. People from every village are joining the campaign and offering their services. With their own efforts, the people are running a massive campaign for water conservation in their respective villages.
Today, I am talking about the strength of 130 crore countrymen, witnessing their dreams and feeling their resolutions from the ramparts of Red Fort, I believe we must focus our attention on the “Panch Pran” for the coming 25 years. You have to concentrate on your resolves and strength. And we must take up the responsibility of fulfilling all the dreams of the freedom fighters by embracing those Panch Pran by 2047 when the country celebrates 100 years of independence.
The Panch Pran of Amrit Kaal- Goal of developed India, to remove any trace of colonial mindset, take pride in our roots, unity and sense of duty among citizens.
The need of the hour is cooperative competitive federalism. Let there be a healthy spirit of competition among the states on progressing in different sectors.
When, I first spoke about cleanliness during my first speech, the entire country embraced it. Everyone moved towards cleanliness as per his capacity and there is now antipathy towards filthiness. This is the country which has done it, is doing it and will continue to do so in future also. Freedom from open defecation has become possible in India today.
When the world was in a dilemma, this is the country which crossed the target of 200 crore vaccinations in a time-bound manner and broke all the previous records.
We are dependent on the fuel from the Gulf. We had decided how to move towards bio-oil. The 10 percent ethanol blending seemed like a very big dream. Old experiences showed that it was not possible, but the country has realized this dream of 10 percent ethanol blending before time.
Providing electricity connection to 2.5 crore people in such a short time was not a small task, but the country has done it. Today the country is rapidly providing water from tap to the homes of lakhs of families.
Experience tells us that we can achieve our goals once we are determined. Be it the goal of renewable energy, the intention of building new medical colleges in the country or creating a workforce of doctors, the pace has increased a lot in every field.
Brothers, how long will the world continue to distribute certificates to us? How long will we live on the certificates of the world? Shall we not set our own standards? Can a country of 130 crores not make an effort to exceed its standards? Under no circumstances should we try to look like others. It should be our temperament to grow with our own potential. We want freedom from slavery. The element of slavery should not remain in our mind even under the distant seven seas.
I look with hope the way the new National Education Policy has been formulated with a lot of brainstorming, with the exchange of ideas from various people and is at the root of the country’s education policy. The skill that we have emphasized is such a power, which will give us the strength to be free from slavery.
We have seen that sometimes our talent gets tied in the bondage of hope. This is the result of slave mentality. We should be proud of every language of our country. We may or may not know the language, but we should be proud that it is the language of my country and it is the language given to the world by our ancestors.
Today we are witnessing the structure of Digital India. We are looking at start-ups. Who are these people? This is that pool of talent who lives in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, or in villages and belongs to poor families. These are our youngsters who are coming before the world today with new discoveries.
Today the world is discussing about holistic health care. But when it talks about holistic health care, it looks towards India’s yoga, India’s Ayurveda and India’s holistic lifestyle. This is our legacy that we are providing to the world.
The world is being influenced by it today. Now look at our strength. We are the people who know how to live with nature. Coarse paddy and millets are household items. This is our heritage. Due to the hard work of our small farmers, paddy flourished in small pieces of land. Today the world is moving ahead to celebrate the millet year at the international level. That means our heritage is being appreciated around the world today. Let us learn to be proud of it. We have a lot to offer to the world.
We are the people who see the divine in the plants. We are the people who consider the river as mother. We are those people who see Shankar in every stone. This is our power. We see every river as a form of mother. Such enormity of the environment is our pride! When we are proud of such heritage, the world too will feel proud of it.
Today the world is facing a severe crisis due to conflicts caused by the attitude of one upmanship- the reason of all tensions. We have the wisdom to resolve this. Our scholars have said “Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti” meaning that absolute Truth is one but it is manifested differently. This is our glory.
We are the people who have seen the welfare of the world; we have been on the path of social good not only for our people but the whole world by believing in “sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ, sarve santu nirāmayāḥ”. It is ingrained in our values that we will pray that may all be prosperous and happy, may all be free from illness, may all see what is auspicious, and may no one suffer.
In the same way, another very important issue is Unity and solidarity. We need to celebrate the diversity of our huge country. The peaceful co-existence of innumerable traditions and creeds are our pride. For us all are equal. No one is inferior or superior; all are our own. This feeling of oneness is important for unity.
My brothers and sisters, from this rampart of Red Fort, I also want to share an agony. What I wish to share is that it hurts me to say that we have witnessed a perversion in our day to day speaking, behaviour. We have been casually using expletives and cuss words which are abusive and against our women. Can we not pledge to get rid of every behaviour, culture that humiliates and demeans women in our daily life? Women’s pride is going to be a huge asset in fulfilling the dreams of the nation. I see this power and therefore I am insistent on it.
It is the job of the government to make efforts to provide 24 hours electricity, but it is the duty of the citizen to save as many units as he can. It is the responsibility and efforts of the government to supply water to every field, but a voice should come from each of my fields that we will move forward by saving water by focusing on ‘per drop more crop’. It is our duty to do chemical free farming, organic farming and natural farming.
Friends, whether it is police or people, ruler or administrator, no one can be untouched by this civic duty. If everyone performs the duties of a citizen, I am sure that we can achieve the desired goals ahead of time.
Today is also the birth anniversary of Maharishi Aurobindo. I bow at the feet of that great man. But we need to remember the great man who gave a call for ‘Swadeshi to Swaraj’ and ‘Swaraj to Suraj’. This is his mantra. And, therefore, ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ becomes the responsibility of every citizen, every government and every unit of society. ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ is not a government agenda or a government programme. This is a mass movement of society, which we have to take forward.
My friends, today we heard this sound after 75 years of independence for which our ears were yearning to hear. For the first time after 75 years, the Made in India cannon has saluted the Tricolor from the Red Fort. Will there be any Indian who will not be inspired by this sound?
My dear brothers and sisters, today I want to congratulate the soldiers of the army of my country from my heart. I salute the way the army jawans have shouldered this responsibility of self-reliance in an organized way and with courage. The resolution of our country is not small when the armed forces make a list and decide not to import 300 defence products.
Speaking of the PLI scheme, people from around the world are coming to India to try their luck. They are bringing new technology along with them. They are generating new employment opportunities. India is becoming a manufacturing hub. It is building a foundation for a Self-reliant India.
Be it manufacturing of electronic goods or mobile phones, today the country is progressing at a very fast pace. Which Indian wouldn’t be proud when our Brahmos is exported to the world? Today the Vande Bharat train and our metro coaches are becoming objects of attraction for the world.
We have to become self-reliant in the energy sector. How long will we be dependent on others in the field of energy? We should be self-reliant in the field of solar energy, wind energy, various renewable energy sources and must lead in terms of Mission Hydrogen, bio fuel and electric vehicles.
Today natural farming is also a way of becoming self-reliant. Today the factories of Nano Fertilizer have brought a new hope in the country. But natural farming and chemical-free farming can give a boost to self-reliance. Today, new employment opportunities in the form of green jobs are opening up very fast in the country.
India has opened up space through its policies. India has come up with the most progressive policy regarding drones in the world. We have opened up new doors of opportunities for the youth of the country.
I also call upon the private sector to come forward. We have to dominate the world. One of the dreams of a self-reliant India is to ensure that India does not lag behind in fulfilling the needs of the world. Even if it is the MSMEs, we have to take our products to the world with Zero Defect, Zero Effect. We have to be proud of Swadeshi.
Till today we always remember our revered Lal Bahadur Shastri ji for his inspirational clarion call of Jai Jawan Jai Kisan meaning “Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer. Later Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji added a new link of Jai Vigyan which meant “hail science” and we gave it utmost importance. But in this new phase Amritkal now it is imperative to add jai Anusandhaan that is “hail innovation”. Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhaan
Today we are all set to enter the 5G era. You don’t have to wait too long before we match the global steps. We are ensuring that optical fiber reaches each and every village until the last mile. I am fully informed that the dream of Digital India will be attained through the rural India. Today I am happy that four lakh Common Service Centers of India are being developed in villages which are being managed by the youth of that village.
This Digital India movement of developing semiconductors, entering 5G era, spreading the network of optical fibers is not just to establish ourselves as modern and developed, but it is possible because of three intrinsic missions. The complete transformation of education eco-system, revolution in health infrastructure and improvement in quality of lifestyles of the citizens will be possible only through digitalization.
Friends, I can foresee that India will march ahead phenomenally in this decade which is hailed as the tech-age for humanity. It is a decade of technology. In the field of IT, India has become a force to reckon with globally. We have the competencies to contribute in this tech-age.
Our Atal Innovation Mission, our incubation centers, our startups are developing a whole new sector, opening up new opportunities for the younger generation. Whether it is a matter of space mission, whether it is about our Deep Ocean Mission, whether we want to go deep into the ocean or we have to touch the sky, these are new areas, by which we are moving forward.
We must acknowledge and strengthen the potential of our small farmers, entrepreneurs, small and medium sized enterprises, cottage industries, micro industries, street vendors, domestic labourers, daily wagers, auto rickshaw drivers, bus service providers etc. These form the largest population who need to be empowered.
I want to say something from the experience of the last few years. You must have seen the power of ‘Nari Shakti’ in courts who are working in the field of judiciary. Look at the public representatives in the rural area. Our ‘Nari Shakti’ is devotedly engaged in solving the problems of our villages. Look at the field of knowledge or science, the ‘Nari Shakti’ of our country is visible. Even in the police force, our ‘Nari Shakti’ is taking the responsibility of protecting the people.
In every walk of life, whether it is the playground or the battlefield, the ‘Nari Shakti’ of India is coming forward with a new strength and a new belief. I can see the manifold contribution of ‘Nari Shakti’, my mothers, sisters and daughters, in the next 25 years compared to the contribution in the 75 years of India’s journey. The more we pay attention to this aspect, the more opportunities and facilities we provide to our daughters, they will return us much more than that. They will take the country to a new height.
There are many states of our country, which have played a great role in taking the country forward, have led and worked as examples in many fields. This gives strength to our federalism. But today the need of the hour is that we need cooperative federalism as well as cooperative competitive federalism. We need competition for development.
I do not want to discuss everything but would definitely want to focus on two issues. One is corruption and the other is nepotism. We have to fight against corruption with all our might. In the last eight years, we have been successful in working for the betterment of the country by saving two lakh crore rupees which used to go into the wrong hands, using all the modern systems like Direct Benefit Transfer, Aadhaar and Mobile.
Those who fled the country after looting banks during the tenure of previous government, we have seized their property and are trying to get them back. Some have been forced to go behind the bars. We are trying to ensure that those who looted the country are compelled to return.
Brothers and sisters, the corrupt are eating away the country like termites. I have to fight against it, intensify the fight and have to take it to a decisive point. So, my 130 crore countrymen, please bless me and support me! Today I have come to seek your support and cooperation so that I can fight this battle. I hope the country becomes victorious in this war.
It is truly a sad state of affairs that even after conviction in corruption cases in court of law or those who were jailed for such cases, some people stoop so low even to glorify them. Therefore, till there is a feeling of hatred against corrupt ones in society, this kind of mindset is not going to end.
On the other hand, I want to discuss about nepotism and when I talk about nepotism, people think, I am only talking about nepotism in politics, but the reality is that this malaise has spread into all institutions of the country, which adversely affects the talent and opportunities. I, therefore, appeal to the people of the country from the ramparts of the Red Fort to take a pledge under the tricolor to root out the menace the nepotism for purification of India’s politics and all intuitions of the country in the true spirit of Indian Constitution.
I urge the countrymen to start the ‘Amrit Kaal’ today by nurturing new possibilities, realizing new resolutions and moving ahead with confidence.
The “Amrit Mahotsav’ of freedom has moved in the direction of ‘Amrit Kaal’ and, therefore, ‘Sabka Prayas’ (everyone’s efforts) is necessary in this ‘Amrit Kaal’. The spirit of Team India is going to take the country forward. This Team India of 130 crore countrymen will realize all the dreams by moving forward as a team.
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