Overview

• Modi hailed Operation Sindoor as a “new normal” in his 79th Independence Day address, vowing to treat terrorists and their state sponsors equivalently; he warned against nuclear coercion by Pakistan.
• He denounced the Indus Waters Treaty as unjust, declaring “blood and water cannot flow together” and pledging India’s sole use of its share of the river basin for domestic farming.
• Domestic ceremonies on August 14 and 15 blended nationalist commemoration with political messaging, as leaders like Amit Shah and President Murmu paid tribute to Partition victims and criticised Congress’s role in the 1947 division.
• President Murmu underscored India’s economic resilience by citing 6.5% GDP growth last fiscal while observing Partition Horrors Remembrance Day during her Independence Day remarks.
• Modi leveraged his Red Fort speech to push swadeshi and Atmanirbhar Bharat, praising the RSS’s centenary and announcing a high-powered demography mission to reinforce self-reliance.