NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the occasion of Dussehra on Tuesday to ask the country's political parties and institutions to set aside their differences and work together in the national interest, warning that forces which hurt the country, divide society and show hostility towards Indian culture amounted to enemies of the nation.
Addressing a large gathering at the DDA Utsav Ground in the IP Extension area of east Delhi, the Prime Minister gave a detailed description of what he called the adversaries of Mother India and urged citizens to identify them and defeat them. The celebrations at the ground were organised by the Shri Ramlila Committee Indraprastha, one of the many Ramlila committees that stage the festival in the national capital.
"May our thoughts be aligned; may all the institutions of the nation, all political parties, stand together for national interests. We must proceed with this very spirit and we must fight together against the enemies of the country," the Prime Minister said, quoting a Sanskrit verse as he opened the political portion of his address.
He then named the three elements he regarded as hostile to the country. "The forces that inflict harm on the country, the people who divide society and the mindset that hates our culture, all these are the enemies of the nation," he said. Urging people to renew their resolve on the occasion of Vijayadashami, he added that the nation must identify the enemies of Maa Bharati and defeat them.
The Prime Minister's call for political unity comes at a time when the government is trying to build a consensus for the passage of the delimitation-linked Women's Reservation Bill, which seeks to reserve a third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies for women. The legislation has a contested history.
A version of the Bill that would have increased the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 seats to a maximum of 815 was defeated in the Lower House in April this year. Being a constitutional amendment, it requires a two-thirds majority for passage, which means the ruling coalition needs the support of at least some opposition parties.
Against this backdrop, the appeal to all parties to stand together carried an obvious political weight. On Monday, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju wrote to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, saying the government valued the participation of all political parties in discussions on matters of national importance and expressing hope that the Congress would play a constructive role rather than obstruct important legislation.
Kharge had earlier written to the Prime Minister seeking an all-party meeting before the government moved ahead with the constitutional amendment Bill. The monsoon session of Parliament, adjourned sine die on August 13, has not yet been prorogued, which has led to speculation that the ruling coalition may bring the Bill before a special session.
The Prime Minister's remarks also landed against the backdrop of opposition protests over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and the opposition's demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The BJP has accused those behind the protests of trying to spread anarchy in the country.
In his address, the Prime Minister asked people to adopt the motto of "Nation First" and said the country should reaffirm its resolve to identify the enemies of India and defeat them. He described Vijayadashami as the festival of the victory of good over evil and said it reminded the nation of the enduring strength of truth and righteousness.
Beginning his speech, Modi offered greetings to the citizens and paid obeisance to Lord Ram, Goddess Sita and Lord Hanuman. "On this sacred occasion of Vijayadashami, I bow at the feet of Lord Shri Ram, Mother Janaki, and Bajrangbali. In this holy atmosphere, I extend my heartfelt greetings to all my fellow citizens on Vijayadashami," he said.
He observed that villages and towns across India were immersed in Ramlila performances and that the festival symbolised the victory of truth over falsehood and the end of tyranny.
"For us, these are not merely festivals; they are the life force of India," he said, describing the Ramlila tradition as a living thread that keeps the ideals of Lord Ram alive from one generation to the next.
A substantial portion of the address was devoted to the idea of Ram Rajya, which the Prime Minister presented as the benchmark of good governance. "Ram Rajya, that is, such a governance where there is no discrimination against anyone, where everyone gets justice, where equal opportunities are available, and where the purpose of power is not to rule, but to serve the welfare of the people; this is the ideal of Lord Shri Ram," he said.
He urged those in public life to treat the citizen as divine, invoking the phrase "Nagarik Devo Bhava", meaning that every citizen is equivalent to God, and said the service of the poor and the underprivileged must remain paramount in administration.
The Prime Minister drew on the story of Lord Ram's journey to Lanka to underline the values of self-reliance, determination and collective effort. He said the difficulties Ram faced on the way to Lanka did not shake his resolve, and that by awakening the collective strength of the people he turned an apparently impossible task into reality.
"Lord Shri Ram taught us that the difficulties of the path cannot stop our journey. The ocean lay ahead, Lanka was far away, but the resolve was unwavering, so Ramji awakened the collective power of the people, made public participation his support, and turned an impossible-seeming goal into reality. This is the fundamental mantra of success," he said.
Applying the lesson to the present, he urged the country not to sit back and rely on others when confronted with crises, but to recognise its own strength and find solutions through its own hard work.
"No matter how big the crisis may be, no matter how tough the challenge may be, we must not sit back relying on others. We must recognise our own strength. We must have faith in our resources. We must turn our resolve into power and find solutions through our own hard work," he said.
The address also placed a strong emphasis on cultural heritage. The Prime Minister said a nation's self-respect was closely tied to its heritage and that the country was working to preserve its cultural identity and bring back artefacts taken abroad over the centuries.
"A nation progresses when it possesses a sense of self-respect, and its heritage plays a major role in shaping that self-respect. That is why the country is now working to preserve its heritage and identity. For centuries, our heritage was looted and taken abroad. But today, we are bringing those treasures back," he said.
He told the gathering that more than 650 ancient idols had been brought back to India over the past 12 years and that the country's cultural centres were being given a new identity on the world stage.
The Prime Minister's appearance at the east Delhi ground was part of his long-standing practice of attending Dussehra celebrations in the national capital. In past years, he has addressed Vijayadashami gatherings at various venues in Delhi, including the Red Fort grounds and the Ram Leela Ground in Dwarka, where in 2023 he called upon people to reject forces that divide the country through casteism and regionalism.
Festival addresses by the Prime Minister have often blended cultural reflection with political messaging, and Tuesday's speech followed that pattern, tying the symbolism of the victory of good over evil to his call for social cohesion.
His remarks came on the same day that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, speaking at the annual Vijayadashami function in Nagpur, pointed to political upheavals in France, Albania, Nepal and Bangladesh while cautioning against attempts to bring about regime change in India. The two speeches, delivered within hours of each other, together framed the festival's political narrative this year.
Concluding his message, the Prime Minister said the festival instilled the courage to believe that truth and humanity would ultimately prevail, no matter how powerful the challenge. "This festival instils in us the courage that no matter how mighty the enemy may be, when we stand with truth and humanity, victory is ultimately ours. This very spirit of Dussehra has always been the ideology of India," he said.
(Reporting based on The Print and The New Indian Express.)