HTLS | PM Modi says India has smashed barriers, bolstered self-confidence of people

India has smashed barriers -- real perceived and exaggerated -- over the past decade to bolster the self-confidence of Indians and put the nation firmly on the path to becoming a developed nation by 2047, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

Delivering the closing address of the 21st Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi, the PM also spoke about his government’s philosophy in eradicating poverty, the expansion of the middle class, and the virtuous cycle between pulling people out of impoverishment and boosting the incomes of the salaried.

He also used the themes of previous HT summits to illustrate India’s long journey over the last decade and exuded confidence that his administration will win a resounding victory in general elections scheduled next summer.

“From the poor to the richest investor, people believe that this is Bharat’s time. The self-belief of every Indian is our greatest strength and can help us surpass any barrier. I believe that in 2047, when HT Leadership Summit happens again, the theme will be -- developed nation, what next?” Modi said, referring to the historic touchdown on the moon, the successful G20 summit, the boom in mobile manufacturing and digital transactions and the strides taken by the startup sector.

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In his 40-minute speech, Modi said that India and Indians faced a slew of barriers for a long time after being attacked, and were then bound by long periods of slavery.

“The flame that was produced during the independence movement, the feeling of collectiveness broke several barriers. After Independence, it was expected that this momentum will be carried forward. But this did not happen unfortunately,” he said.

Modi said these fetters ensured that India didn’t progress commensurate with its capabilities. “One big barrier was a mental barrier. Some barriers were real, other barriers were perceived, and some barriers were exaggerated. After 2014, India has been working hard to break these barriers. We have already surpassed many…and today, we are marching forward after breaking free of all shackles,” he added. “And India will not stop at this..sitaron ke aage jahan aur bhi hain (beyond the stars, there lie new worlds).”

Modi said that the biggest barrier was of mindsets, which made people think that nothing could happen in this country, no one could be on time, corruption couldn’t be uprooted, and the quality of government projects would necessarily be poor.

“But there are incidents that inspire the country to break barriers. When Gandhi picked up a few grains of salt, the country was inspired and the belief in people was bolstered… Similarly, after the success of Chandrayaan, it is not as if 140 crore people became scientists. But it filled people with the confidence that they could achieve anything,” he said.

He offered the example of the Swachh Bharat Mission. He recalled that when he spoke about the issue from the ramparts of the Red Fort, people thought talking about issues such as toilets and sanitary pads was against the prestige of his position. “At that time, men would not even talk about sanitary pads. But I raised these issues from the Red Fort, and the mindset started to change from there. Today swachhata is a people’s movement,” he said.