Page 4 - The Indian EYE 082225

The Indian Eye
COVER STORY AUGUST 22, 2025 4

MODI’S MESSAGE

INDIA

FIRST

In a record-breaking Independence Day address, PM Modi set out a sweeping vision for a self-
reliant India, sending a clear message to the world that the country would protect its farmers,

build its own defences, and shape its destiny on its own terms

OUR BUREAU
New Delhi
n a record-breaking Independence
Day address from the Red Fort,
IPrime Minister Narendra Modi
set out a sweeping vision for a self-re-
liant India, sending a clear message to
the United States and the world that
the country would protect its farmers,
build its own defences, and shape its
destiny on its own terms. The air over
Delhi’s old quarter shimmered with
the August heat, but the mood in the
packed ceremonial grounds was elec-
tric. It was Modi’s twelfth consecutive
Independence Day address, and ex-
pectations had been building for weeks
that this would be one of his most con-
sequential speeches.
The Prime Minister appeared in
his customary brightly coloured tur-
ban, this time in saffron and green,
the colours of the national flag. He
began by invoking the sacrifices of
freedom fighters, then pivoted quick- Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort on 79th Independence Day, in New Delhi. (DPR PMO/ANI Photo)
ly to his central theme: Atmanirbhar
Bharat, or self-reliant India. This, he Biden administration, continuing for fear of undercutting millions of cade in office, but the emphasis was
declared, was the only sure path to a some of the protectionist impulses small farmers. sharper this time.
Viksit Bharat — a fully developed na- of Donald Trump’s era, had recent- Without naming the US, Modi He framed agriculture not just
tion — by 2047, the centenary of inde- ly raised tariffs on a range of Indian was unmistakably clear in his posi- as an economic sector, but as a pillar
pendence. goods, from steel to textiles, by as tion. “If any policy is against India’s of national sovereignty — a view that
much as 25 per cent. farmers, fishermen, cattle rearers, resonated in a country where farming
STAND WITH FARMERS At the same time, US negotia- Modi is standing like a wall,” he de- still employs nearly half the workforce.
tors had been pressing India to open clared, prompting cheers from the This wasn’t the first time India
he speech came against the its agricultural and dairy markets to audience. The line was a throwback had resisted external pressure on ag-
backdrop of a simmering trade American producers — a move that to the nationalist economic argu- riculture. From the Uruguay Round
Tstandoff with Washington. The has long been resisted in New Delhi ments that have punctuated his de- Continued on next page... >>

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