Seventy-nine years after Independence, India stands at a historic inflection point—not merely as a free nation, but as a resurgent civilisational power. Much of this renewed confidence has been built over the past eleven years, under the Bharateeya Janata Party–led National Democratic Alliance, helmed by Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi—arguably one of the tallest leaders on the global stage today. This has been an era not of incremental tinkering, but of tectonic shifts—political, economic, and cultural—that have transformed India’s self-image and its standing in the world. It is no exaggeration to say that in this period, India has seen achievements that rival any comparable phase in its modern history. January 2024 witnessed an event that Hindus had waited for centuries—the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. This was not merely the inauguration of a temple; it was the restoration of historical justice and cultural pride. For millions of Indians, the moment marked a deep civilisational reaffirmation—one that no court case or political delay could suppress forever. The abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 was another watershed. Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, long used as a political bargaining chip, was revoked. The region was fully integrated into the Indian Union, a step that successive governments had avoided for fear of political backlash. In one stroke, the Modi government ended decades of separatist appeasement and constitutional anomaly. Equally bold was the outlawing of Triple Talaq, a regressive practice that the Congress, despite ruling for nearly six decades, never dared touch. The Supreme Court had declared it unconstitutional in 2017; the Modi government went further, enacting a law to ensure Muslim women’s dignity and equality were protected in practice, not just in principle. On the economic front, the Modi government rolled out initiatives that earlier regimes only talked about. The Goods and Services Tax (GST), long trapped in political quicksand, was finally implemented in 2017—ushering in the “One Nation, One Tax” framework and dismantling the maze of indirect levies. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana connected over 50 crore Indians to the banking system—an unprecedented leap in financial inclusion. For the first time, millions could save, borrow, and transact without middlemen.
In the 2010s, Indian Railways was a symbol of stagnation. In the 2020s, it became a symbol of aspiration. The Vande Bharat trains, station modernisations, and electrification drives have put speed and efficiency back on track. The UDAN scheme brought affordable air travel to Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns, with over 70 new or revived airports changing the economic geography of India. The highway network, under the watch of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, expanded at a pace unmatched in the world, turning logistical bottlenecks into high-speed corridors. The inauguration of the New Parliament Building in 2023 gave the world’s largest democracy a modern legislative home befitting its scale. Perhaps the most striking shift has been in defence manufacturing. Under Aatmanirbhar Bharat, India’s defence exports have soared to ₹23,622 crore in FY 2024–25—a record that cements the country’s status as a credible arms supplier. The emphatic success of India’s recent four-day conflict with Pakistan—fought under the close watch of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s top team, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Home Minister Amit Shah, NSA Ajit Doval, the Chief of Defence Staff, and the three service chiefs—showcased indigenous weapon systems that proved decisive on the battlefield. The result: Indian armaments are now in demand across the Indo-Pacific and beyond. From a fragile economy once dismissed by global rating agencies, India has surged to become the world’s fourth-largest economy, leapfrogging established industrial powers. Its resilience through global shocks—from pandemics to geopolitical disruptions—has made it a pillar of stability in an unstable world. This Independence Day is not just a remembrance of freedom won in 1947. It is a celebration of a nation that, after decades of political hesitation and misplaced priorities, has rediscovered its will to act boldly and dream big. From Ram Mandir to record defence exports, from highways to high-speed trains, from financial inclusion to military self-reliance—the India of 2025 commands respect, not sympathy. For 1.4 billion Indians, the message is clear: the tricolour no longer flutters as a relic of a colonial past—it soars as the emblem of a confident future.
