In 2014 and before that Modi spoke about "Neo-Middleclass" .... then came Aspirational India and in 2026 ... he urged corporate India to increase the global footprint

As usual, he played it smart. Some key messages were subtle. 

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech - his consecutive 13th - set out a larger goal for Indian companies.  

"Why shouldn’t 50 of those Fortune 500 companies be from India in the coming decade?,"  he said. This is more than a rhetoric. It is unleashing of a new ambition and new target. 

The state of world is in flux. War and conflicts seem are the order of the day and amid these situations and challenges - Economy is going to he he real and big -- killing and also surviving' - factor. In times to come; these words from the Prime Minister would be cherished. 

Normally, Independence Day speech of an incumbent Prime Minister are used to primarily project the developmental projects and to celebrate the present. 

Under pressure due to fli-flop at Jantar Mantar and a setback to his image; Modi deliberately moved away in his 75 minute speech from what has been achieved.

He focused on what must achieve in future. For him, the future is never the coming decade or so. Hence, he spoke about 2047 - that is a future Bharat after as many as 21 years. A four-year-old today would turn 25 in 2047 and a 20-year-old GenZ will be 41 by then.  But the Prime Minister is firm about one thing -- nation first. India and Bharat will persist but it has to be aware of the changing dynamics. Did readers miss a point that he skipped naming countries like Pakistan and did not even mention 'our western neighbour' or Padosi.  

He has kept his eyes on the ball. Modi knows the art of the games being played at the local level by protagonists such as Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.  Of course, by not reacting to Pakistan president and others - he has in effect snubbed both Rawalpindi and Islamabad. 

He has able to show Pakistan its place. His veiled missive was - my four-day programme vis-a-vis Operation Sindoor has kept you where you are and your landslide journey will continue further. 

Modi has bigger things in mind. One of them is growth of Indian companies; and the other one is enhanced Defence production and to emerge as a global supplier. Here comes the diplomacy; Team Modi is pursuing and which cannot be understood by immature (college student mindset) of Rahul Gandhi.  

 

India is now world's fourth largest economy - with or without Rahul's approval or this is much beyond the understanding of Sandeep Dikshit. 

 

Under Narendra Modi, India’s ties with Israel have taken on a different character.

Certainly, it is a political and diplomatic shift. Palestine is not bothering Modi at all. Hence, he has taken the ties with Isreal at the strategic and and defence level.  New Delhi had primarily been a major customer of Israeli weapons. But, through joint ventures and manufacturing partnerships, it is now a “significant contributor” to Israel’s weapons production.

There is an evolution of India’s role. India was now a key part of Israel’s weapons supply chain.  

 

Indian companies, including state-owned enterprises, have delivered drone warheads, artillery shell casings, small arms parts and military vehicle components to Israeli military suppliers. 

There is also perhaps a support for Israel by Modi’s voter base.  

Do people fear any ideological confluence between Hindutva and Zionism ?

About 12 years back; that in 2014 or before that Modi spoke about “neo-middle class”. This has been an aspiring category.

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How do we look at the nei-Middleclass ?

This group around 2014 was certainly imbued with forms of intense Hindu religiosity.

Everywhere in India, plebeians who experience some upward social mobility, especially when they come from “a low-caste background, adhere more strongly to the ritualistic forms of Hindu practice” (Middle-Class Moralities: Everyday Struggle over Belonging and Prestige in India, M. Saavala, 2010).

Saavala attributesd this attitude to a new form of Sanskritisation. 

In Gujarat, it had developed at the expense of caste-oriented identities.

Bigger question asked was -- Can caste identities be submerged in a new sense of belonging to a “neo-middle class” among the urban OBCs ?

Can they be identified with Modi-the-former-chaiwala, who promises jobs?  (2014 context)

And whether Hindu majoritarianism prevailed more, perhaps further eroding caste divisions? 

ends