Inside Modi’s speech: 40 ‘deshwasiyon’, 50 nods to youth

Dubai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had plenty of policy announcements to make from the Red Fort on India’s Independence Day. But running through his 75-minute speech was another message — contained not so much in what he announced, but in whom he repeatedly chose to address.

“Mere pyare deshwasiyon” — my beloved fellow citizens — was Modi’s favourite form of address during his 13th Independence Day speech, appearing nearly 40 times.

But one group received particularly intense attention: India’s young.

Modi referred to the country’s youth roughly 50 times, using expressions ranging from “yuva shakti” and “naujawan” to “yuva” and, on one occasion, “mere pyare yuva” — my beloved youth.

And the emphasis was backed by some of the speech’s biggest announcements.

A pitch to young India

Modi announced free online coaching for competitive examinations, arguing that coaching fees place a heavy burden on poor and middle-class families.

He also unveiled an ambitious AI-skilling initiative under which one crore young people are to be trained in artificial intelligence skills over the next year, Indian media reports said.

Sports formed another part of the youth push.

The Prime Minister announced a nationwide talent hunt for children aged five to 15, aimed at identifying promising athletes from across India and giving them specialised training to develop into world-class competitors.

He linked that effort to India’s sporting ambitions for 2036, saying the country should aim to participate in at least three-fourths of events.

But Modi also had a warning for young Indians.

Calling drug addiction a major challenge, he urged families to join a 100-day nationwide Nasha Mukt Yuva Abhiyan, or drug-free youth campaign, describing the fight against addiction as a collective responsibility.

How Modi’s language has changed

A look at previous Independence Day speeches shows how Modi’s preferred way of addressing Indians has shifted.

“Deshwasiyon” has long been one of his staples.

He used it around 50 times in 2025, about 30 times in 2024, nearly 15 times in 2023 and more than 40 times in 2022.

“Sathiyon”, or friends, has also featured prominently. Modi used it 10 times this year, compared with about 35 times last year and nearly 30 in 2024.

But 2023 was different.

That year, “parivaarjan” — family members — became his dominant expression, appearing around 50 times.

In Saturday’s speech, Modi also used “desh sevak”, meaning those who serve the nation, and “bhai beheno” — brothers and sisters.

More than a choice of words

The repeated references offered a window into the audiences Modi wanted to reach.

His focus on young Indians was accompanied by promises touching education, AI, sport and the fight against drugs, while his broader address repeatedly returned to the language of national belonging.

Modi also announced plans to modernise India’s civil defence system and highlighted the country’s push for energy security, including a target of 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047.

Yet amid the policy and politics of the Red Fort address, one phrase kept bringing Modi back to his audience:

“Mere pyare deshwasiyon.”

Nearly 40 times in 75 minutes, the Prime Minister returned to those words — while making it equally clear that much of his message was directed at the generation he sees carrying India into the future.