A look at the Independence Day speeches made by prime ministers since 1991

Every year, on Independence Day, the Prime Minister addresses the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort. The speech is one of the most significant moments in the life of the republic – for it reveals the priorities, the passions, the concerns, the challenges of those who govern the Indian state. It also reveals the political preferences of the leader and is a mix of motivating and reassuring citizens about the state of the nation.

HT looked back at the speeches made by Prime Ministers since 1991, when India embarked on economic reforms and inaugurated a new phase in its nation-building project. Here is a look at the key messages of PMs since then.

1991

Let’s get the economy right

It was the year of change. From the ramparts of the Red Fort, PV Narasimha Rao, soon after initiating economic reforms, called on the country to cooperate as the government tackled the ‘worst-ever economic crisis’ and social discontent. 1991 was also when both Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab were engulfed in violence. Rao said nothing could be achieved through bloodshed. Referring to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, which was demanding the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, the PM also said India’s roots were in secularism. “The day we get divided in the name of religion, the country will disintegrate.”

1992

Three-year moratorium on divisive issues

In the following year, Rao proposed a ‘three-year moratorium’ on contentious issues which threatened the country’s unity and integrity to focus on economic reconstruction. He also returned to the theme of Ayodhya, and reiterated his government’s resolve to protect the Babri Masjid and resolve the issue through negotiations. A little over three and a half months later though, in December, the mosque had been demolished.

1993

Don’t abet terror

In his third speech, Rao sent out a strong warning to Pakistan, whose role in encouraging terror across the border in Kashmir was clear, and said India would give a ‘befitting reply’. He also told Islamabad it should understand that the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India was final. But domestic concerns remained on his mind. He staunchly defended his economic reforms, spoke about the increase in foreign currency reserves, improvement in balance of trade, and argued reforms would also help the poor and workers.

1994

Return PoK

In yet another indication of how strongly Pakistan’s role in Kashmir dominated national thinking in the period, Rao used the Independence Day address to tell Islamabad that it was time for them to return to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He also promised that elections would be held in Kashmir soon (it eventually happened in 1996). He once again went back to the theme of economic development – and claimed that his government had brought stability.

1995

Liberalisation not anti-poor

Economic reforms and its impact had now slowly become visible. At a time when there was concern that it had left out the marginalised, in election year, Rao used his final address to say that the government’s aim remained poverty alleviation. He claimed that the entire aim of reforms was welfare, strengthening rural base, infrastructure and fulfilling basic needs of people. This, however, turned out to be his final speech – as Rao lost the next elections.

1996

‘Humble farmer’ speaks

HD Deve Gowda, the Karnataka leader who accidentally became PM with the backing of regional parties and Congress, spent months preparing to deliver his speech in Hindi. Gowda referred to his origins as a ‘humble farmer’ to suggest he understood the problems of the poor. The PM also sprung a surprise by announcing a decision to grant statehood to Uttarakhand, and a slew of welfare schemes, including rice and wheat at subsidised rates.

1997

‘Satyagraha’ against corrupt

It was IK Gujral’s turn next, and the PM used the occasion – the 50th year of Indian Independence – to call for a ‘satyagraha’ against corruption, which he termed as a bigger threat than ‘external aggression’. The PM said, “Nothing works without pay-offs.”

He also regretted the ‘hesitation’ in Indian politics to give equal space to women and made gender equity a key theme of his speech. Gujral also announced that primary education would soon become a fundamental right. He declared it was now time for ‘economic swaraj’.

1998

‘Nuclear tests not for war’

This was Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s first Independence Day speech, which came a few months after the Pokhran tests. Vajpayee credited Indira Gandhi for laying the foundation of these tests, and reiterated that nuclear tests were not meant for war. He has also talked about resolving all issues with Pakistan and China through talks. Reassuring minorities of “full security” and guaranteed participation in development, Vajpayee asserted that his government was opposed to communalism in any form. He also mentioned Lokpal and women’s reservation bills in his speech.

1999

End cross-border terror

The Kargil conflict had just ended. A few months earlier in February, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had taken a bus journey to Lahore to promote peace in the sub-continent, a move for which he faced flak from the rivals. His speech as a caretaker Prime Minister was dominated by praises for martyrs and wounded soldiers. He also ruled out any talks with Pakistan unless it ended cross-border terrorism and announced the induction of long-range Agni-II ballistic missiles into the defence arsenal.

2000

Kashmir ‘unbreakable’ part of India

After the fall of the 13-month-old Vajpayee government in April, the BJP-led NDA returned to power in the Lok Sabha elections held in September-October 1999. In his first speech in his new term, Vajpayee warned Pakistan for its “undeclared war” and asserted that Kashmir will remain an “unbreakable part” of India. The year saw some communal incidents in some parts of the country. Vajpayee sternly warned that attempts to spread communal discord and incite violence would not be tolerated. This was also the year when three new states Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh were carved out of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh respectively.

2001

Liberalisation hasn’t benefited everyone

Two years after the Kargil conflict, India had invited Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf for summit-level talks at Agra. In his speech, Atal Bihari Vajpayee spelt out the reasons for the failure of the Agra summit, saying Musharraf had come with single-point agenda of forcing India to accept Pakistan’s terms on Kashmir. “I could not have accepted this.” The surfacing of the UTI scandal had prompted him to take a tough stand on corruption, vowing to act against any person, however big or powerful, if found involved in graft cases. He also spoke on the economy, and said fruits of liberalisation hadn’t reached everyone.

2002

Free and fair elections in Kashmir

As assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were a few months away, Atal Bihari Vajpayee promised from the ramparts of Red Fort “free and fair” polls in the troubled state. In his speech, he invoked Kashmiriyat, talked about friendly relations with Pakistan and also mentioned the Gujarat riots. “The horrific explosion of communal violence in Gujarat was one unfortunate example of this. There can be no place for such violence in a civilised society,” he said.

2003

No political discrimination

This was Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s last speech from Red Fort as the NDA government advanced the Lok Sabha elections by six months to April 2004. Pakistan and Kashmir continued to be the central theme of his Independence Day speech. He spoke about having established cooperative relations with states ruled by rival political parties. “Political discrimination on account of ideological differences is unacceptable to us,” he said. Vajpayee also announced that India will send it own spacecraft to Moon by 2008 and the mission was named Chandrayaan I.

2004

Uphold constitutional values

It was the first independence day speech of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Months after the Congress-led UPA coming back to power, which many did not expect, Singh spoke about the need for good governance and ‘code of conduct for political parties and everyone in public life’ to uphold the ‘values enshrined in the constitution.’ He also stressed on how a ‘purposive’ bilateral dialogue with Pakistan can bring peace and stability in the region. The 45-minute speech was laced with intention to usher in change in governance in ‘priority’ sectors that ranged from education to infrastructure. The speech was hailed as forward-looking and erudite.

2005

Focus on Aam Aadmi

In his second Independence Day speech, Singh exhorted the nation to take its ‘rightful place in the world’ buoyed by the robust economic growth. The continuing violence in Jammu and Kashmir had the Prime Minister sending a tough message to Pakistan that Indian response to extremist attacks can be ‘hard’. He emphasized that the focus of his government is not only economic growth but also the ‘empowerment’ of aam admi. He also spoke about how time has come for every Indian to take pride in his or her ‘Indian identity’ and work for equitable development.

2006

Stop terror and extremism

Two years into office, Singh used the ramparts of Red Ford to deliver a strong message to Pakistan, urging the neighbour to understand that ‘popular support for peace process’ will be hugely ‘undermined’, if Islamabad continued with its policies to foster extremism in India. He emphasized that ‘cross border’ terrorism is hampering regional peace and prosperity. In his speech he also said India has ‘wars to fight for aam admi against poverty, inequity and unemployment’. He sought consensus on ‘national issues’ and urged the political parties to shun ‘divisiveness.’

2007

A nation of young people

The year 2007 marked the 60th year of country’s Independence. Singh delivered a speech befitting the occasion, reflecting on the accomplishments of the past and speaking on the challenges ahead. The PM said the best is yet to come, quoting English poet Robert Browning. “We are a nation of young people. Once unleashed, the energy of our youth will drive India onto a new growth path,” Singh said. What was significant was that Singh didn’t mention the India-US nuclear deal that was threatening the longevity of his government. Nor did he speak about Pakistan in his 50-minute speech.

2008

Let’s make peace

“Let’s Make Peace” was the underlining theme of Singh’s speech. With a shadow of terror attacks looming, Singh also said “terrorist and those who support terrorism” are enemies of people and countries must collectively “defeat them.” He chose to spoke to mention about the nuclear deal with the US saying the pact would ‘spur’ economic growth. Singh said modern silence should ‘find solution to our energy problem’. He also announced a special skill development mission and launching of a new space aircraft

2009

Restoring growth biggest challenge

Singh used the opportunity to explain the slowing down the economic growth in the wake of global crisis. The economy grew at a rate of about 9% from the year 2004-05 to the year 2007-08. This growth rate came down to 6.7% in 2008-09 due to the global economic crisis. “It is only a result of our policies that the global crisis has affected us to a lesser extent than many other countries”, Singh said and maintained that that restoring our growth rate to 9% is the greatest challenge he has at hand. Reflecting on the deadly terror strike in November 2018, Singh spoke about the efforts his government was putting in place for national security. He also said that the nation-building is the ‘highest duty’ for everyone.

2010

Discussion and dialogue way to peace

In 2010, Manmohan Singh made a fresh appeal to young people in Kashmir and Naxals and said that discussion and dialogue was the only way to resolve issues. On the economy, he accepted that inflation was on the rise and hurting the common people, while he cited subsidy burden to explain why the government had to increase prices of petro products (auto fuel was regulated at that time). But Singh spoke of agricultural reforms not only as a solution to high inflation but also to ensure development of rural India. This was the year of the Commonwealth Games, and it found a mention in his speech.

2011

Hunger strikes won’t solve corruption

Manmohan Singh’s seventh speech as Prime Minister reflected the growing allegations of corruption against his government. The Commonwealth Games scam and the 2G scam were already making headlines and Singh said that one single step cannot root out corruption, hunger strikes are not a solution but a multi-pronged effort is required to control it. In this context he mentioned a Lokpal legislation, Judicial Accountability Bill and a legislation for public procurement. He mentioned corruption 16 times in his speech.

2012

Slow growth national security threat

Concerns about slowing growth and high inflation was evident in Manmohan Singh’s independence day speech in 2012. The PM made an explicit connection between slow growth and national security. Singh blamed the global economy as well as lack of political consensus as major roadblock for increasing the pace of growth. He also spoke about the need to create more employment opportunities in the country and in that context laid down the idea of a National Skill Development Authority.

2013

No place for narrow sectarian ideologies

His last speech as Prime Minister was a recap of the achievements of the past UPA and Congress years. As growth slumped to 5%, concerns were evident in Manmohan Singh’s speech as he spoke about effort to expedite stuck projects, remove bottlenecks of environmental clearances. He ended his speech with an appeal towards creating a tolerant society that celebrates communal harmony at a time when the challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party had grown. The Independence Day celebrations acquired a sharp political edge this year, as the PM contender from the BJP, Narendra Modi, gave his own address in Gujarat, rebutting Singh.

2014

Ten year moratorium on communalism, casteism

Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi’s first speech from the rampart of the Red Fort was historic in many senses. Significantly, at a time of apprehension about the government’s political priorities, the PM announced a moratorium of 10 years against promoting communal and caste tensions.

Calling himself the Pradhan Sevak, Prime servant, he spoke at length about Swachh Bharat and the need to make more toilet in schools; he also spoke of financial inclusion and announced a scheme for MPs to adopt model villages.

2015

A corruption-free India

In his second speech, Modi made a strong pro-poor, pro-farmer and anti-corruption speech. On one hand, he announced Start up India, Stand up India to appeal to the young and as a mode of job creation; on the other hand, he rolled out a slew of social welfare schemes on pension and insurance. He spoke against corruption, mentioning it 19 times during his speech, and said that there has not been any allegation during his term. Modi also said that in 1000 days all non-electrified villages would be given a power connection.

2016

Thank you, Balochistan

The highlight of Modi’s 86-minute speech was his reference to Balochistan—a sensitive topic for Pakistan administration. He said he is grateful to people of Balochistan, Gilgit and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir who had wished India on Independence Day. Modi also used the address to highlight the government’s social goals – including medical aid of upto ₹ 1 lakh for people below the poverty line – and reach out to middle class by saying they would be spared the tyranny of the tax authorities.

2017

Kashmir needs to be embraced

At a time when Kashmir continues to face unrest, PM Narendra Modi adopted a conciliatory approach and said the Kashmir problem will be solved neither by gaali, abuses, or goli, bullets, but by embracing all Kashmiris. He also condemned violence in the name of faith and said the slogan before Independence was Bharat Chhodo but now it should be Bharat jodo. He empathized with Muslim women who suffered Instant Triple Talaq – which would become a key political theme of his government – and said they are with their struggles. He continued his strong messaging against corruption and said that the government wants to create job givers not job seekers.

First Published: Aug 15, 2018 12:39 IST

Source: HindustanTimes