NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday that India is seeking self-reliance with energy independence and the development of its own powerful defence systems, vowing to defend his country´s interests “like a wall”, foreign media outlets reported.
Modi delivered his annual Independence Day address from the imposing ramparts of Red Fort in New Delhi at a time when India faces intense pressure and threats of additional tariffs from the United States.
“Self-reliance is the foundation of developed India,” Modi said after a flypast of military helicopters scattered flower petals above an invited crowd of thousands.
“Freedom becomes meaningless if someone becomes too dependent on others.”
Ties between New Delhi and Washington have been strained by Trump’s ultimatum for India to end its purchases of Russian oil, a key source of revenue for Moscow as it wages its military offensive in Ukraine. The United States says it will double new import tariffs on India from 25 percent to 50 percent by August 27 if New Delhi does not switch crude suppliers.
“We know that we remain dependent on many countries to meet our energy needs,” said Modi. “But to build a truly self-reliant India, we must achieve energy independence.” Modi urged scientists and engineers to focus on building key sectors and technologies including fighter jet engines, semiconductor chips and military hardware systems. “We will have India-made semiconductor chips in the market by the year’s end,” Modi said.
He added that the country was also working towards building its own space station and would have a “defence shield” in the next decade, without giving further details.
Modi did not speak directly about US President Trump, but said he would “stand like a wall” against any policy that hurts the interests of farmers. “When economic selfishness is rising day by day... we must not just sit and worry about the crisis but instead focus on our strengths,” Modi said.
Meanwhile, India’s opposition parties have sharply condemned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for using his 79th Independence Day address to praise the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and mount political attacks, accusing him of eroding the spirit of a secular republic.
The Indian National Congress on Friday criticised Modi for politicising the occasion to appease the RSS, while also voicing concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, unemployment, “open misuse” of constitutional bodies and investigative agencies, and a decline in India’s global standing during the BJP’s decade in power.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP of being “ready to stoop to any level of immorality to stay in power”. He said the history of India’s freedom struggle was inseparable from that of the Congress, warning that the vision of the country’s independence heroes “is slipping further away”. Kharge added: “Large-scale irregularities in elections are coming to light. Under the guise of Special Intensive Revision, opposition voters are being openly removed from the rolls. Those who are alive are being declared dead… The impartiality of the Central Election Commission can be gauged from the fact that they were not willing to disclose who was removed from the voter lists and on what basis”. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called Modi’s address “stale, hypocritical, insipid, and troubling” with “the same recycled slogans”. He claimed the prime minister referred to the RSS because he was “decisively weakened” after the 2024 election results and “at complete mercy and reliant on Mohan Bhagwat’s good offices for the extension of his tenure”.
In his Independence Day speech on Friday, Modi had said that 100 years ago “an organisation was born” which would “continue to inspire us”. Ramesh described this as “a blatant breach of the spirit of a constitutional, secular republic… a desperate attempt to appease the organisation in the run-up to his 75th birthday next month”, adding that such “politicisation of Independence Day… is deeply corrosive to our democratic ethos”.
Priyanka Gandhi invoked the sacrifices of India’s freedom fighters. She emphasized the need to safeguard the constitution: “They entrusted us with the national resolve of democracy, justice, equality and mutual unity… Our resolve to protect our freedom, constitution, and its principles remains unwavering”.
Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha accused Modi of “dog-whistling and politics”, “distorted history” and having “negated the foundation” of the country. The Trinamool Congress said the Indian prime minister was targeting “infiltrators” as a “new enemy”. CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby said it was “profoundly unacceptable and shameful” for Modi to hail the RSS, “an organisation with a dubious historical record” that “had no role whatsoever” in the freedom struggle. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi termed the praise of the RSS “an insult to the freedom struggle” and accused it of collaborating with the British.