‘Reiterate commitment to always protect bonds of unity, brotherhood’

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday recalled the sufferings of people impacted by India’s partition and reiterated the commitment to always protecting the bonds of unity and brotherhood in the nation.

On the Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, he said, “We recall the countless people who were impacted and greatly suffered due to the horrors of Partition. It is also a day to pay tributes to their courage, which illustrates the power of human resilience. A lot of those impacted by Partition went on to rebuild their lives and attain immense success.”

He added, “Today, we also reiterate our commitment to always protect the bonds of unity and brotherhood in our nation.”

Meanwhile, PM Modi will unfurl the national flag for the 11th time in a row on Thursday on Independence Day -- the centrepiece annual event where he lays out his government’s agenda, presents its report card, makes important policy and programme announcements and speaks about burning issues.

His first Independence Day address of his third term will take him past Manmohan Singh, who unfurled the tricolour 10 times from the ramparts of Red Fort during 2004-2014, and place him behind Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, who did the honours 17 and 16 times respectively.

While the theme of ‘Viksit Bharat’ is expected to animate his address, there is a view that the crisis in Bangladesh, especially the targeting of minority Hindus, may find a mention in his speech, more so as Hindutva groups have strongly taken up the issue and hit the streets.

Modi may also speak about the mandate for his government for a third straight term, though with a reduced majority, and dwell at length on how reforms, development programmes and welfare measures rolled out in the last 10 years have impacted the lives of the people.

It will be eagerly seen if the prime minister announces any new initiative or expand the ambit of some ongoing welfare programmes at a time when a combined opposition, at its strongest in the last 10 years, has pivoted to populist welfare promises to draw support.

Jammu and Kashmir has often figured in his August 15 speeches as the govt has worked overtime to reconfigure the security and development paradigms in the erstwhile state, now a Union territory, since scrapping Article 370 in 2019.

Of late, the region, especially the Jammu division, has seen several terror incidents, leading to the deaths of several security personnel.