India has just entered its 80th year of Independence Day and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has just delivered his 13th speech from the ramparts of Red Fort. But this year instead of analysing the Prime Minister’s speech, I have chosen to imagine the speech I would make if, just for a day, I were the Prime Minister of India.
So here goes.
Namaskar bhaiyon aur behno. Brothers and sisters. Doston aur deshvasiyon, friends. . Vanakkam. Namaskara. Good morning.
Today I stand before you not merely as your Pradhan Mantri, but as your Pradhan Sewak.
I know you have heard that phrase before. But today, I want to walk the talk. So let me begin with myself.
Within one month, I have decided that all ministers — and I myself — will vacate our sprawling Lutyens’ bungalows and move into smaller homes. I will cut down my carcade. I will cut down unnecessary foreign travel, skip all award functions. I have issued one simple instruction to my party and all chief ministers: No more pictures of me on every government hoarding, billboard and advertisement Enough of personality cult politics. A democracy is not a one-man show. The Prime Minister is temporary. The Republic is permanent.
And I want to make another commitment today. The government of India will not identify itself with any particular religion I am a religious person. But my faith belongs to my home and my conscience. As Prime Minister, I have only one sacred text: The Constitution of India.
No temple, mosque, church or gurudwara will receive special political patronage. Every place of worship will be treated equally under the law. And there will no digging up of a place of worship to see what existed in that spot 500 years ago. Let’s look ahead my fellow citizens, not look back in anger or vengeance .
Let me be also absolutely clear: the freedom to practise your religion does not give you the freedom to hate another Indian.
The state will not decide what you eat, what you wear, whom you marry or what language you speak — as long as you remain within the law. The job of the state is not to police your private life. It is to protect your public rights.
Any hate speech that deliberately promotes violence and communal enmity will face swift and certain punishment — irrespective of who makes it and which community is targeted. No selective outrage. No selective justice. One law. One standard. One India.
Now let me turn to corruption.
Every MP and MLA of my party will publicly declare their assets every year. Those declarations will be independently audited: If an elected representative is found to have accumulated assets grossly disproportionate to known sources of income, there will be consequences: immediate removal from office for starters . I am introducing a citizen’s anti-corruption mechanism: if you are asked for a bribe by a government official, you should be able to record and report it easily to a portal. Prima facie cases will be investigated quickly and special courts will ensure time-bound adjudication. Because “Na khaunga, na khane doonga” cannot remain a slogan. It has to become a way of life .
Also today, on this Independence Day, I want to say something directly to Gen Z. I am sorry We misread you badly . We underestimated the depth of your anger, your anxiety and your frustration. We thought perhaps you could be reached through Instagram reels, social media posts and hashtags. We got it wrong. I got it wrong. When young Indians come out on the streets to protest, the first response of a democracy should not be to silence them or see them as ‘dimagi Naxals’ or anti-nationals. Far from it. And let me say this clearly: pellet guns should never be a weapon of crowd control against young protesters. I seek your forgiveness.
As public sewaks, we have to listen before we lecture. So I am announcing something today: Gen Z se Baat. Once every month, I will meet young Indians from across the country—not for a photo opportunity, not for a scripted interaction, but to listen. You can question me. You can disagree with me. You can tell me where we have failed you. Because the youth of India don’t need a government that merely talks at them. They need a government that listens to them. You are not the future of India. You are India Today.
Which brings me to two issues affecting every Indian family today : education and health.
My government will move towards spending in the best budget 6 per cent of GDP on education and substantially increase public health expenditure.
But money alone is not enough. We need better schools, better teachers, better universities, better hospitals and, above all, better outcomes. I would rather build a thousand excellent schools than a thousand political statues.
And I am announcing a national one -year examination reform programme. Enough of paper leaks. Enough of cancelled examinations. Enough of making millions of young people pay the price for administrative incompetence.
Our young people are not guinea pigs. Their future cannot depend on whether a question paper reaches the right place on the right morning without any leaks .
And let me say something else about our youth. India’s biggest challenge is not simply unemployment. It is the absence of dignity in employment. My Mission 2047 will therefore have one obsession Jobs. Jobs. And more jobs.
AI will disrupt millions of jobs. Automation will change the workplace. But every technological revolution also creates new opportunities. We need to prepare our young people for those opportunities — not simply tell them to wait for government recruitment.
India needs an ecosystem where entrepreneurs can create businesses, businesses can create jobs and workers can earn with dignity . After liberalising the economy in 1991, perhaps it is time to liberalise our minds in 2026. I want to assure you: no special favours to any business house considered close to me. I believed in free enterprise: that means free and fair competition and yes ease of doing business, not as a slogan but as measurable changes in systems .
Now, my message to India’s women. We have heard enough slogans. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao is a powerful slogan. But governments cannot be judged by slogans. They must be judged by outcomes.
So I wish to announce that my party will voluntarily commit to giving 50 per cent of tickets to women in every election we contest from now on . Yes, 50% seats next time for women
We will create a national framework to ensure that crimes against women are investigated rapidly and professionally. Because women don’t need more speeches about empowerment. They need safety, opportunity and equal power.
Now, to another important issue: policing. India cannot have a modern democracy with a colonial-era police structure that remains vulnerable to political interference. The Supreme Court gave us a roadmap for police reform nearly two decades ago. I will implement it. Transfers cannot be used as political weapons. The police cannot become the private army of the government of the day. Police must serve the Constitution, not the ruling party.
And while I am talking about institutions, let me talk about Parliament. Every Wednesday, I will spend Question Hour in Parliament answering questions from the Opposition.
Because democracy is not the art of silencing your opponent.
Democracy is the art of answering your opponent. Parliament cannot become a notice board where the government puts up legislation and the Opposition simply watches it pass.
And yes, I want to give my media friends something to cheer: I will hold a press conference every quarter. A real press conference Two hours. Ask me anything.
Ask me about unemployment. Ask me about China. Ask me about communal violence. Ask me about government expenditure. Ask me about any government scheme. Ask me even about PM cares fund. And if I don’t know the answer, I will say so. But I will not run away.
Because a Prime Minister should be accountable enough to face questions.
To my friends in the media, I say: don’t be afraid of power.
Your job is not to please the government. Your job is to question it. And yes, that includes questioning me.
Now, to our judges. You should not have to worry that an inconvenient judgment today will cost you a government-appointed position tomorrow.I will end the culture of post-retirement political patronage for judges. We need more judges. We need faster justice. We need judicial vacancies filled quickly. But above all, we need judicial independence.
You are not my employees. You are guardians of the Constitution.
The same message goes to our civil servants. You are the steel frame of India. Don’t become the political punching bag of the government of the day. If a minister asks you to do something illegal, you should have the right to say no without fearing transfer or victimisation.
And now, the Election Commission It was once one of India’s great democratic institutions. I believe the system of appointing election commissioners needs greater independence and transparency.l So I will create a genuinely broad-based selection mechanism involving the government, Opposition, judiciary and independent members, with recorded proceedings and publicly explained decisions. The referee cannot be seen as belonging to either team.
And let me turn to another of my key thrust areas: the environment. India cannot become developed by destroying the very environment in which Indians have to live.
Our forests, rivers, air and coastlines are not obstacles to development. They are part of our national wealth.
The National Green Tribunal will be strengthened. Environmental clearances will be transparent. Development will mean sustainable development. Because what is the point of becoming a $10 trillion economy if our children cannot breathe?
Now let me come to perhaps the most important promise of all: Federalism.l There will be no “double-engine” discrimination under my government. A state ruled by my party is not more Indian than a state ruled by the Opposition. No selective release of funds. No misuse of investigating agencies to intimidate political opponents. No encouraging defections simply because an elected government is inconvenient.
And I will bring an anti-defection reform that says something very simple: If you leave the party on whose ticket you were elected, you must seek a fresh mandate from the people. No exceptions. Because elected representatives should not be allowed to change governments without changing their mandate.
My fellow Indians, we have achieved much in 80 years.
We have built institutions. We have survived wars, famines, terrorism, political upheaval and economic crises.We have sent spacecraft to the moon. We have built one of the world’s largest digital economies. We have produced extraordinary scientists, entrepreneurs, start up whiz kids, artists, soldiers and athletes.
Let us celebrate all of that.
But let us also remember:
India was not built by one Prime Minister, one party or one ideology. India is a relay race. Every generation receives the baton, runs its lap and passes it on.
That is why today I salute Jawaharlal Nehru.I know some in my own party may ask: why quote Nehru? Because I refuse to believe that patriotism means erasing the contribution of those who came before us.
Nations are not built by constantly fighting the ghosts of the past.
They are built by learning from the past.
In his famous Tryst with Destiny speech, Nehru spoke of the ambition to wipe every tear from every eye He also said that so long as there are tears and suffering, our work will not be over. Those words remain relevant. My fellow Indians, our work is not over. We will not build Viksit Bharat by dividing Indians into Hindus and Muslims, Brahmins and Dalits, North and South, rich and poor, ruling party and Opposition. We will build it by giving every Indian a fair chance. Not an India where one per cent of the population controls more than 40% of national income.
That can only happen in a fair chance, equal opportunity society.
A fair chance to study.
A fair chance to work.
A fair chance to worship.
A fair chance to speak.
A fair chance to disagree.
A fair chance to live without fear.
And, perhaps most importantly, a fair chance to dream.
That is the India I would want to lead.
Not an India built around one leader.
Not an India built around one party.
Not an India built around one religion.
But an India built around one idea:
The Republic belongs to all of us. That is my visison my fellow Indians as a Pradhan Sewak
So on this 80th Independence Day, let us remember: Jai Hind is not a slogan reserved for those who agree with us.
It belongs to every Indian.
Jai Hind.
Post script: since there is zero chance of me becoming Prime Minister, this speech remains entirely imaginary. But then every Indian does have the right to dream big , no?
