Pakistan mentioned just twice in Modi’s I-Day speeches over the past decade

Pakistan's mention from I-Day speeches have been disappearing

While national security, border issues, and terrorism have featured regularly in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day addresses—especially in his second term—Pakistan has been directly mentioned only twice in the nearly 1 lakh words he has spoken from the Red Fort since 2014.

The last explicit reference to Pakistan came in 2016, when Modi mentioned the Peshawar terror attack during his longest Independence Day speech to date. Kashmir, too, has been absent from his speeches since 2022, though it featured more often in his second term than in his first or during Manmohan Singh’s 10-year tenure.

By comparison, Singh mentioned Pakistan far more frequently during his 10 years as prime minister—12 times between 2004 and 2008, and five times from 2009 to 2013.

“As far as Pakistan is concerned, we expect from them that they would not let their territory be used for acts of terrorism against India,” Singh said in 2010.

In his final 2013 address, he added that improved relations required Pakistan to prevent anti-India activity from its soil.

Mentions of neighbours, however, have been a common feature of Independence Day speeches across decades.

Pakistan was referred to by Jawaharlal Nehru during his later years in office, and featured frequently in Indira Gandhi’s addresses, including a direct reference in her 1968 speech.