PM Modi’s Independence Day targets: corruption, nepotism

“I do not want to discuss everything, but I would definitely like to focus on two issues. One is corruption, and the other is nepotism and the dynasty system,” Modi said. He seemed to point to the recovery of cash during raids by the Enforcement Directorate on the premises of Trinamool Congress leaders: “…[While] people are struggling with poverty and do not have a place to live, there are some who do not have a place to keep their ill-gotten money. This is not an ideal situation.”

He also attacked the Congress: “We have seized the properties of those who fled the country after looting banks during the tenure of the previous government… Some have been forced to go behind bars. We are trying to ensure that those who looted the country are compelled to return.”

The PM indirectly referred to protests by the Congress over the ED’s questioning of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. “Although the abhorrence of corruption is visible and expressed, sometimes generosity is shown towards the corrupt, which is not acceptable in any country,” he said. “Unless there is hatred towards filth in society, the consciousness for cleanliness does not arise, unless we develop hatred towards the corrupt and corruption, until we socially shame these people, this mentality will not change. That is why we need to be very aware of corruption and corrupt people,” he said.

Parivarwad and bhai-bhatijawad were “good reasons for corruption”, Modi said. “Nepotism has gripped many of our institutions today. This is sadly harming the immense talent pool of our country.”

Corruption

Before his speech on Monday, the PM had spoken the most on corruption during his Independence Day address of 2015, the year before he announced the demonetisation of high-value currency notes. An analysis of the original Hindi text of the Prime Minister’s speeches released by the PIB from 2014 to 2022 shows the following patterns:

On August 15, 2015, Modi mentioned corruption at least 19 times. Corruption, he said, was eating the country like termites — and the process to get rid of it must start from the top. He mentioned that the CBI had registered 1,800 cases in just 10 months, compared to 800 in the entire previous year.

In 2016, he mentioned corruption only once.

In 2017, he mentioned bhrastachar at least five times, and said he had launched a war on corruption. “Bhrastachar aur bhai-bhatijawad se koi samjhauta nahin hoga. (There will be no compromise with corruption and nepotism),” he said in his August 15 speech that year.

In 2018, Modi mentioned corruption twice, and announced his government’s commitment to fight it. “Hum kaala dhan, bhrash‍tachar ko maaf nahin karenge. Kitni hi afatein k‍yon na aayen, is marg ko toh main chhodne wala nahin hoon… (We will not forgive [the culprits of] black money, corruption. No matter what difficulties arise, I will not waver),” he said in his Independence Day speech that year.

In 2019, corruption figured twice in Modi’s speech, and he linked it with the dynasty system: “You know very well that corruption and nepotism has damaged our country beyond imagination.”

In 2021, he mentioned corruption once.

Nepotism

Before 2022, the PM had used the term bhai-bhatijawad in his Independence Day speeches in 2017, 2018, and 2019. In 2017, he said there would be no compromise with nepotism; in 2018, he said his government had put an end to nepotism; the following year he underlined the “unimaginable” damage nepotism had done to the country.

In his eight previous Independence Day speeches, Modi had mentioned parivarwad only once — in 2019. “…In politics too, family bias or dynasty has done the most injustice to the country’s strength,” he said. “[Parivarwad] becomes a way to benefit only the family and has no connection to the national good.”

Terrorism

The Prime Minister mentioned terrorism (aatankwad) only once on Monday: “Terrorism created challenges every now and then, innocent civilians were killed.” Last year and in 2020 too, he had made only a solitary mention of aatankwad.

In his 2019, however, Modi had mentioned terrorism 14 times — and without naming Pakistan, hit out at the country for supporting and exporting terrorism. He also mentioned the challenges of terrorism faced by Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.

The word aatankwad did not find mention in Modi’s Independence Day speeches in 2015 and 2018. He had referred to terrorism at least eight times in his speech of 2017, 14 times in 2016, and twice in 2014.

Other buzzwords

Other words that appeared in the Prime Minister’s speech on Monday  were virasat, azadi, and Aatmanirbhar Bharat. The last mentioned — self reliance — had been a buzzword in Modi’s Independence Day speech in 2020, along with vistarwad, or expansionism.

He had used aatmanirbhar once earlier — in his 2018 speech. In 2020, as India and China faced off in Ladakh, Modi used vistarwad at least five times.

On Monday, the Prime Minister mentioned the word rozgar (employment) only twice — the same as in his 2021 speech. He had used rozgar seven times in 2020 and 2017, six times in 2019, five times in 2015, four times in 2016 and 2014, and twice in 2018.

In 2014, Modi used the word “job” five times. He mentioned the word once each in his Independence Day addresses of 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021.

Modi’s speech this year was a little longer at 8,353 words than last year’s (7797 words). He had given longer speeches in 2020 (9,438 words), 2019 (10,131 words), 2018 (9,082 words), 2016 (11,242 words), and 2015 (8,915 words), and shorter ones in 2017 (6,598 words) and 2014 (7,583 words).