PM Modi's I-Day speech to spotlight Operation Sindoor, swadeshi push

From Red Fort, PM to celebrate India's military triumph, farmer welfare, and Atmanirbhar Bharat vision

India’s success against Pakistan in Operation Sindoor, the government’s resolve to protect interests of farmers amid US tariff threat and a renewed push towards Atmanirbhar Bharat are set to feature prominently during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Friday.

 

On Wednesday, chief ministers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states and Union ministers participated in ‘Tiranga Yatras’ across the country.

 

Home Minister Amit Shah hoisted the National Flag at his residence in New Delhi as part of the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign. He said the initiative has become a people's movement that strengthens the spirit of patriotism.

 

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan organised a Tiranga Yatra and ‘Swadeshi March’ in his parliamentary constituency Vidisha–Raisen in Madhya Pradesh.

 

He appealed to the people to hoist the National Flag at their homes on Independence Day and took a pledge with them to adopt ‘swadeshi’ ‘made in India’ products.

 

Chouhan said three million women in the country are set to become Lakhpati Didis (earning ₹100,000 annually).

 

“I pledge to buy only products that are made in India for my daily use, and I will urge everyone in my family, neighbourhood, and village to do the same,” he said.

 

Chouhan said the Indus Waters Treaty is no longer the issue. “The issue is Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. It is ours, and it will remain ours,” he said. At a meeting that Chouhan attended on Tuesday in New Delhi, farmers welcomed the PM’s decision to resist “foreign pressure in trade negotiations,” according to an official press statement.

 

Under the overarching objective of the government’s vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047, the theme of the 79th Independence Day is to celebrate the “continuing rise of a prosperous, secure and bold Naya Bharat.”

 

After the PM hoists the National Flag, two Mi-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force will shower flower petals, with one trooping the National Flag and the other a flag depicting ‘Operation Sindoor’.

 

The invitation cards for the 79th Independence Day celebration also carry the Operation Sindoor logo, and the water mark of Chenab bridge to exemplify the rise of ‘Naya Bharat’. Floral decorations at the venue will also be based on ‘Operation Sindoor’.

 

Apart from personnel of the three defence services, 2,500 boy and girl cadets (Army, Navy and Air Force) and ‘My Bharat’ volunteers will participate in the celebrations.

 

Nearly 5,000 special guests have been invited to witness the celebrations at Red Fort this year, including Indian contingent of Special Olympics 2025, winners of international sports events, farmers trained under National Beekeeping and Honey Mission, farmers engaged in sustainable management of medicinal plants, and sarpanches of open defecation free plus villages as well as interns enrolled under the PM Internship Scheme, among others.

 

Other guests include sanitation workers, beneficiaries of the Lakhpati Didi scheme, Aanganwadi workers, rehabilitated bonded labourers and guests from ‘vibrant villages’ in border areas.

 

The guest list represents the government’s commitment to the welfare of the poor, farmers, women and youth, and also the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).

 

The Defence Ministry conducted quizzes and competitions in the run up to the Independence Day, including an essay writing competition on the topic ‘Operation Sindoor: Redefining India's policy against terrorism’. Around 1,000 winners of these competitions have also been invited to attend the Independence Day celebrations. The online quizzes were conducted on the topics like the role of women in shaping new India, border of India and rise of Atmanirbhar Bharat and innovation in national security.

 

For the first time ever, with the objective to “promote patriotic fervour among citizens and to celebrate the victory of Operation Sindoor’, a number of band performances will be conducted pan-India in the evening of Independence Day celebrations, the government’s Press Information Bureau said. Bands from the defence and paramilitary forces will perform at over 140 prominent locations throughout the country.