Laying a road map for India

Since he first took office in 2014, Narendra Modi has keenly focussed on his place in history and building his legacy to become one of India’s most consequential prime ministers. The PM’s Independence Day addresses have been a key vehicle of this mission — from the beginning of social movements such as the Swachh Bharat mission and the seeding of his flagship Beti Padhao Beti Bachao mission, to the launch of mega welfare projects such as Ujjwala or Jal Jeevan. HT Image Modi’s 11th Independence Day speech hinted that these ideas were all pieces of the bigger picture that the PM wants to sketch, of a developed India in 2047. This was the policy cornerstone of the 98-minute speech, his longest yet, and the PM painstakingly unfurled the various aspects of his vision for a Viksit Bharat — a financial powerhouse respected by the globe, the third-largest economy driven by the enterprise of its vast young population, a country propelled by technological advancement and scientific innovation, a country not sullied by corruption, crimes against women or dynastic politics, a country where reforms were not hindered by populism, where empathetic governance ensured the upliftment of marginalised sections and where glory in sports and global competitions was not an aberration.