I woke up early on Independence Day, wore a white kurta with a saffron dupatta and a green bindi. I drove to work with the Tricolour waving merrily on my car and saw others on the roads just like me — with the national flag on their cars, autos, motorbikes and cycles. It was a bright morning with happy smiles all around.
Each year on this day, when he addresses the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not just give a report card of all that the government has done, he also outlines his vision for the future. Every year his speech has held a special message, a special motto, and this year was no different.
PM Modi addresses his countrymen and women as “parivarjan”, a recognition of each and every citizen of this country as his family. He belongs to all 140 crore Indians and all 140 crore Indians belong to him. He talks like an elder of the family, taking accountability and responsibility. He gives us all a personal guarantee and promises to take India’s economy to greater heights. He says, “Ye Modi ki guarantee hai, Bharat aane wale paanch varshon mein duniya ki teesari sabse badi artvyvastha hoga” (This is Modi’s guarantee, that in the next five years, India will be the world’s third largest economy). And he has a roadmap in place for that feat. Time and again, he has set targets and achieved them before the deadline.
We are a country with many possibilities and opportunities, a country with the largest youth population in the world and our expanding middle class needs proper direction and goals — as have been envisioned in the PM’s speech.
The speech has been crucial in explaining the significance of the middle class as the backbone of the economy and with the continuous efforts of the government, 13.5 crore people have moved out from below the poverty line and emerged as the neo-middle class. As the poor of our country get uplifted, their spending power grows, and this in turn strengthens the economic conditions of our middle class. These growing business opportunities can only be capitalised on if we strengthen our traders and MSMEs. The PM understands the contribution of our working class and has brought them dignity by announcing the Vishwakarma Yojana and allocating funds for skilling craftsmen and pushing community-driven development.
Economic growth can’t achieve its full potential if we leave women behind, and we can’t move ahead by leaving behind half of our population. Today there are more women than men pursuing STEM courses in India. India has the highest number of women pilots in the world, we also have women scientists working on the Moon Mission. PM Modi has steered the direction of women’s empowerment to women-led empowerment and that is a moment of pride for us all. The Modi government is set to spend Rs 10 lakh crore on women’s self-help groups and help make over two crore “Lakhpati Didis”. The Prime Minister also acknowledges the ground reality of more women in the agricultural sector. Today, nearly 63 per cent of workers in the agricultural sector are women and an initiative by the Prime Minister to train them in drone technology is very inspiring and welcome.
In a bid to strengthen India’s strategic capabilities further, the Modi government has reached out to even the farthest and most remote regions of the country through projects like Bharatmala and Parvat Mala. Declaring border villages as India’s first villages and not the last indicates that reaching out to the remotest regions of the country is a priority for this government.
As PM Modi gives the mantra of “Reform, Perform and Transform”, he shows us the way to walk down the lanes of Kartavya Kaal and break the shackles of 1,000 years of slavery. As the Prime Minister himself says, “There is no dearth of opportunities in the country. The country has the ability to provide endless opportunities.” His speech endows us with the vision of the India of our dreams, a developed and inclusive India, an India of growth, opportunities and achievements, an India on the rise, ready to lead the world!
The writer is a lawyer and National Media Panellist of the BJP
