Modi urges India to reject violence in name of religion

Speaking on IoK, Modi said what was needed were 'hugs' for Kashmiris

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged India on Tuesday to reject religious violence, after a series of attacks against minorities sparked debate about whether a surge of Hindu nationalism is undermining the country's secular ideals.

In a speech from the ramparts of Delhi's Red Fort marking the 70th anniversary of India's independence, Modi also listed his government's achievements, including a fight against corruption.

Modi has spoken out against attacks by right-wing Hindus, many of whom back his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP], against minority Muslims and lower-caste Hindus accused of killing cows, considered holy by the majority Hindus.

But the setting of his denunciation of violence on Tuesday was significant. "We will not tolerate violence in the name of faith," Modi said before a teeming crowd at the fort and a huge television audience.

Modi made much of the progress India has made since independence from British rule in 1947. But he also expressed pain over the death of at least 60 children in a state-run hospital last week amid shortages of supplies - a reminder much remains to be done on India's journey to development.

Aura of progress

Since coming to power in 2014, Modi has found it difficult to balance the competing demands of groups from his nationalist Hindu power base and those Indians striving to build a modern, secular country befitting its growing economic influence.

Manoj Joshi, a fellow at the Observer Research Foundation think-tank said Modi was playing "good cop, bad cop" by condemning communal violence but doing little to rein in elements of his ruling party. "There is an obvious gap between slogan and implementation. It's a deliberate gap and it's just for the record," he said.

Modi also spoke at length about delivering a "new India" by 2022, underlining his confidence of winning the next general election, due by 2019.

Strong growth and economic reforms have bolstered Modi's popularity and helped his party sweep state elections in recent years, leaving the opposition severely weakened. Still, to keep up with the demands of India's 1.3 billion people, the government needs to create millions more jobs a year, which it is struggling to do.

"A certain level of triumphalism ... brought Modi to power," analyst Ajai Shukla told NDTV. "Now he realises people are expecting answers. He felt the need to convey an aura of progress."

Modi was conciliatory towards Occupied-Kashmir, where violent protests against Indian rule have erupted over the past year, saying neither "name-calling nor bullets" would be enough to pacify the region.

What was needed, he said, were "hugs" for Kashmiris.

Modi says India will fight foreign threats

India can defend itself from anyone who seeks "to act against our country", Prime Minister Narendra Modi added in his Independence Day speech amid a tense standoff with Beijing over a Himalayan plateau.



"Security is our top priority," Modi said."Be it the sea or the borders, cyber or space - in all spheres, India is capable and we are strong enough to overcome those who try to act against our country."

His remarks came as New Delhi's dispute with Beijing over a strategically key Himalayan plateau enters its second month on Wednesday, with hundreds of soldiers reported to be facing off against each other.

The giant neighbours share a long history of mistrust and went to war in 1962 over the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, and are still embroiled in a dispute over the territory.



India is also mired in a border row with Pakistan over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir since their split in 1947.