Delivering a firm Independence Day message from the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday cautioned Pakistan that India will deal equally with terrorists and those sheltering them. He asserted that the armed forces will have full autonomy to determine the nature and timing of any future retaliatory actions against cross-border provocations.
In his 79th Independence Day speech, the prime minister unveiled a new national security initiative, Mission Sudarshan Chakra, aimed at expanding, modernising, and strengthening the country’s defence shield. He also stressed the importance of developing an indigenous jet engine to boost India’s self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector.
Hailing the armed forces for the success of Operation Sindoor, Modi said the military response had inflicted unprecedented damage on Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists. “Operation Sindoor reflects the anger of every Indian,” Modi said, adding that the action demonstrated a “new normal” in how India responds to terrorism and nuclear threats.
The prime minister described the operation as one of the most decisive in decades, revealing that Indian forces crossed deep into Pakistani territory to dismantle terror infrastructure. “Destruction was so extensive that more details are emerging each day,” he noted.
Following the Pahalgam attack, the government suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, a move Modi defended as necessary to safeguard India’s farmers. “Blood and water will not flow together,” he declared, calling the decades-old treaty “one-sided and unjust.”
Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 and lasting four days, targeted Pakistan-based terrorist facilities and concluded with a mutual understanding between the two nations on May 10. Modi said the military had been given a free hand to set its own objectives, strategy, and timeline, and would continue to have such authority in the event of future aggression.
The address also featured a symbolic tribute to the armed forces, with two Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopters showering flower petals over the Red Fort — one carrying the national flag and the other a banner honouring Operation Sindoor.