Speaking to the nation on the eve of the 80th Independence Day, President Droupadi Murmu set a clear, uncompromising tone on national security: terrorists and the states that back them will find no safe haven.
A central highlight of her address was strong commendation for the Indian Armed Forces, specifically pointing to the precision and discipline displayed during Operation Sindoor. Reflecting on the counter-terror operation carried out after the Pahalgam attack, she noted that the mission drew a clear line in the sand—proving India has both the operational readiness and the strategic willpower to eliminate terror hideouts without acting as an unprovoked aggressor.
President Murmu also put her full weight behind New Delhi’s decision to keep the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. Halting the water-sharing agreement with a neighbour that sponsors cross-border terror was, as she framed it, an essential and long-overdue move to safeguard national interests and protect the rights of Indian farmers.
Turning inward, she hailed the nationwide drive to eliminate Left-Wing Extremism as a defining domestic triumph. Regions once paralyzed by Maoist violence, such as Bastar, are undergoing a quiet, ground-level transformation—trading conflict for road networks, transparent local administration, and community platforms like the Bastar Olympics.
On the economic front, the President spotlighted India's remarkable stability against a backdrop of global headwinds and international conflicts. With the domestic economy expanding at more than twice the global average, she pointed to key milestones over the last ten years: over 25 crore people lifted out of multidimensional poverty, unified digital systems handling more than half of the world’s real-time digital transactions, and social welfare safety nets covering more than 80 crore citizens.
Looking ahead to the centenary goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047, President Murmu urged every citizen to carry forward the spirit of the independence movement by building self-reliance, upholding social justice, and strengthening national unity.