South Africa tour of India 2019
PM Modi Declares Dependence on Other Nations as India’s ‘Main Enemy’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday identified India’s true enemy as not any foreign power but its dependence on other countries. Speaking at the Samudra se Samruddhi event in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar, where he launched and laid foundation stones of projects worth ₹34,200 crore, Modi strongly pitched for atmanirbharta (self-reliance).
“In the true sense, India has no major enemy in the world. Our only enemy is dependence on others,” he said. He argued that the more India depends on other nations, the greater the chances of failure.
Modi pointed out that India spends nearly ₹6 lakh crore annually to foreign companies for shipping its goods, an amount almost equal to the country’s defence budget. Decades ago, 40% of India’s trade used to be handled by Indian-made ships; today, it has fallen to just 5%. This, he stressed, must change.
The Prime Minister announced that his government has taken a historic decision to classify large ships as infrastructure, a move aimed at boosting India’s maritime sector. He asserted that ports are the backbone of India’s journey to becoming a global maritime powerhouse.
Criticizing past governments, particularly Congress-led dispensations, Modi said they stifled Indian talent with policies like the licence raj. He declared that India’s destiny lay in becoming self-reliant in every sector—from semiconductors to shipping. “The medicine for all of India’s problems is self-reliance,” he concluded, urging industries and citizens to support this national mission.
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