In a powerful Independence Day address that reverberated across the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered an uncompromising message to Pakistan from the historic Red Fort, declaring that India will never bow to nuclear intimidation while announcing a complete overhaul of the decades-old Indus Water Treaty.
As reported by The Times of India, the Prime Minister's 79th Independence Day speech was marked by strong warnings to Pakistan and a resolute stance on both terrorism and water rights, reflecting the nation's unwavering commitment to protecting its sovereignty and farmers' interests.
Operation Sindoor sets new benchmark
Lauding the armed forces, PM Modi revealed that Operation Sindoor had inflicted heavy losses on Pakistan, with new evidence of the damage surfacing daily. "What our forces achieved in Operation Sindoor has not been witnessed in decades," PM Modi said. "We have set a new normal in tackling cross-border terrorism. I salute our brave soldiers who delivered a punishment for the Pahalgam attack far beyond the enemy's imagination."
Water treaty rejection over terror links
In a bold assertion of national sovereignty, the Prime Minister declared that India and its farmers have sole rights over the country's share of the Indus river waters. He branded the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan as "unjust and one-sided," stating that the decades-old agreement had caused "enormous harm" to Indian agriculture by allowing rivers originating in India to irrigate "the fields of our enemies" while leaving Indian soil and farmers parched.
Drawing a stark line in response to the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 people, PM Modi declared: "Blood and water cannot flow together." His message was unequivocal - India's national interests would no longer be compromised.
"The waters that belong to India will be used by India, for India's farmers alone. We will not tolerate any arrangement that deprives them. This agreement is unacceptable to us," PM Modi said.
The 1960 Indus Water Treaty, signed under World Bank mediation, has governed the sharing of the Indus and its tributaries between India and Pakistan. Modi emphasised that India's farmers had endured "unimaginable losses" for decades under this arrangement, a situation his government would no longer accept.