India Independence Day: PM Modi lauds India’s self-reliance in fight against enemies, from virus to Pakistan

PM Modi on Friday used his Independence Day address to hail India’s growing self-reliance as the driving force behind its ability to take on cross-border terrorism from historically disputing, neighbouring Pakistan.

He placed India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat push at the heart of his message, saying homegrown technology and defence manufacturing gave the country the edge in Operation Sindoor after the deadly Pahalgam attack.

“Made in India worked so well that the enemy didn’t even realise what was destroying them,” Modi told the nation from the Red Fort on the country’s 79th Independence Day. “Imagine, had we not been self-reliant, could we have executed Operation Sindoor as smoothly?”

The Prime Minister said the operation, carried out after April 22, was given a free hand by the government — with the military setting its own strategy and targets. “Our forces achieved what had not happened in decades. The devastation in Pakistan is so severe that new revelations are emerging every day,” he said in his 12th consecutive I-Day Speech from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort.

The BJP supremo also called for manufacturing of homegrown engines for 'Made in India' fighter jets.

He declared that India’s security policy had entered a “new normal” where terrorism would no longer be separated from its sponsors, and nuclear blackmail would not be tolerated.

Modi also linked self-reliance to broader national resilience, noting that over the past decade it had strengthened India’s ability to respond to crises — from global health emergencies to natural disasters.