From rape to the economy, Indian PM ranges wide in Independence Day speech
Narendra Modi's first Independence Day speech as India's leader showcased the government鈥檚 domestic goals, but stayed away from relations with Pakistan.
Narendra Modi's first Independence Day speech as India's leader showcased the government鈥檚 domestic goals, but stayed away from relations with Pakistan.
In a wide-ranging speech, Indian Prime Minister聽Narendra Modi addressed sexual assault, sanitation, and corruption and in his extemporaneous, hour-long Independence Day remarks.
Addressing the series of rapes and violent assaults that gained the world鈥檚 attention, Mr. Modi stressed the need for parents to educate and聽raise their sons to act in a respectful manner.
To combat problems of rape and sexual assault, Modi highlighted root causes that can be fixed through government and citizen action. He urged lawmakers to use money to construct separate bathrooms for girls and boys at schools, noting that this would help keep more girls in school. He also spoke of India鈥檚 skewed sex ratio, urging parents and doctors not to abort female fetuses.
The speech also served to outline goals Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party聽(BJP) plan to undertake. He stressed the need for better sanitation and cleaner cities, most likely addressing a recent study that has shown probable聽links between poor sanitation and malnourishment聽among children in India.聽
Tackling India鈥檚 economy, Modi called on聽global businesses to come to India聽for manufacturing. 鈥淥ur dream should be to see the 鈥楳ade in India鈥� signs in every corner of the world,鈥� he said.
He also announced plans to make bank accounts available to every Indian family, though The New York Times reports that people are skeptical of the proposal's chances for success 鈥渋n the absence of good jobs and higher wages.鈥�
In what the Hindustan Times called a聽鈥渟urprise announcement,鈥澛燤odi said he was going to do away with the country鈥檚 Soviet-style Planning Commission, which directed India's economy, and replace it with a modern institution.聽
Unlike his predecessors, Modi did not use the speech as an opportunity to criticize or critique relations with Pakistan. He also did not use the clear bullet-proof shield favored by other prime ministers.
The BBC鈥檚 Geeta Pandey notes that聽while the speech was well-received, it gave critics an opportunity to 鈥渜uestion his performance in the months since taking over as prime minister and his government鈥檚 failure to deliver reforms to overhaul the economy going through the worst slowdown in two decades.鈥�