New Delhi [India], December 6 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday emphasised that no nation can progress without self-confidence, and unfortunately, long years of colonial rule had shaken India’s confidence due to the colonial mindset.
“Today’s journey of India is not only about development but also about a change in mindset, a psychological renaissance”, said the Prime Minister while addressing a gathering at the HT Leadership Summit 2025.
According to an official release, the Prime Minister highlighted that this colonial mindset has been a major obstacle in achieving the goal of a developed India, and therefore, today’s India is working to free itself from it.
Noting that the British knew well that to rule India for a long time, they had to strip Indians of their confidence and instil a sense of inferiority, which they did during that era, PM Modi remarked that Indian family structures were labelled as outdated, Indian attire was termed unprofessional, Indian festivals and culture were called irrational, yoga and Ayurveda were dismissed as unscientific, and Indian inventions were ridiculed. He underlined that these notions were repeatedly propagated, taught, and reinforced for decades, leading to the shattering of Indian self-confidence.
Remarking on the widespread impact of the colonial mindset, PM Modi said he would cite examples to illustrate it. He highlighted that today India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world, being described as a global growth engine and a global powerhouse, with one achievement after another.
He emphasised that despite India’s rapid growth today, no one refers to it as the ‘Hindu rate of growth’. He recalled that the term was used when India struggled for growth rates of two to three per cent. The Prime Minister questioned whether linking a country’s economic growth to the religion or identity of its people could have happened inadvertently, asserting that it was instead a reflection of the colonial mindset.
He remarked that an entire society and tradition were equated with unproductivity and poverty, with attempts made to prove that India’s slow growth was due to Hindu civilisation and culture. PM Modi pointed out the irony that those so-called intellectuals who find communalism in everything failed to see communalism in the term Hindu rate of growth, which was made a part of books and research papers during their era.
PM Modi remarked that the colonial mindset had devastated India’s manufacturing ecosystem and explained how the nation is reviving it. He highlighted that even during the colonial period, India was a major producer of arms and ammunition, with a strong network of ordnance factories, exporting weapons and having them widely used in world wars.
The Prime Minister noted that after independence, the defence manufacturing ecosystem was destroyed, as the colonial mindset led those in government to undervalue weapons made in India, turning the country into one of the world’s largest defence importers.
Emphasising that the same mentality affected the shipbuilding industry, which for centuries had been a major centre in India, the Prime Minister recalled that even five to six decades ago, forty per cent of India’s trade was carried on Indian ships, but the colonial mindset gave preference to foreign ships.
He remarked that the result is evident: a nation once known for maritime strength became dependent on foreign ships for 95 per cent of its trade, leading India today to pay nearly $75 billion, or about 6 lakh crore rupees, annually to foreign shipping companies.
“Whether it is shipbuilding or defence manufacturing, today every sector is striving to leave behind the colonial mindset and achieve new glory”, underscored the Prime Minister.
PM Modi remarked that the colonial mindset caused significant damage to India’s governance approach, as the government system was, for a long time, marked by distrust of its own citizens. He recalled that earlier, people had to get their own documents attested by a government officer, but this distrust was broken, and self-attestation was accepted as sufficient.
Emphasising that this is not merely about the return of assets but about trust, about the commitment to continuously earn the trust of the people, PM Modi added that the trust of the people is the nation’s true capital, and such campaigns could never have been possible under a colonial mindset.
“The nation must be completely freed from a colonial mindset in every sphere”, stressed the Prime Minister. He highlighted that just a few days ago, he had appealed to the country, urging everyone to work within a 10-year time frame. PM Modi further noted that Macaulay’s policy, which sowed the seeds of mental slavery in India, will complete 200 years in 2035, meaning ten years remain. He emphasised that over the next ten years, all citizens must ensure that the country is liberated from a colonial mindset.
PM Modi said that reforms carried out in India earlier were “reactionary”, but they are guided by national goals in current times.
The Prime Minister said that India’s growth remains steady.
“At one time, reforms in India were reactionary. This means that either political interests were linked to major decisions, or they were announced to manage a crisis. However, reforms are carried out with national goals in mind. We have set targets. Each sector across the country is seeing improvement. Our growth is constant. Our intent is nation first,” PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister said that the belief in transformation that remains in the country was because of the strong foundation of work being carried out in today’s time, which he said was paving the way for future transformation.
“Today, as we discuss Transforming Tomorrow here, we must also understand that the belief in transformation that has been created is based on a strong foundation of the work currently being done. Today’s reforms and today’s performance are paving the way for tomorrow’s transformation,” PM Modi added.
The Prime Minister said that the transformation of the nation becomes certain when its people contribute to development without barriers. He stated that India was moving forward by tapping its “vast and previously unrealised potential”.
“A large part of Bharat’s potential remained untapped for a very long time. When this untapped potential receives greater opportunities, and when people contribute to national development with full energy and without barriers, the nation’s transformation becomes certain. Our Northeast, our villages, our tier two and tier three cities all hold immense potential that could not be utilised in earlier decades. Bharat is now moving forward by tapping this vast and previously unrealised potential,” PM Modi said.
“Earlier, India’s space sector was under government control only. But we have reformed the space sector. We opened it for the private sector, and the country is seeing the results today,” he added.
PM Modi said that in an atmosphere of geopolitical uncertainty, India is emerging in a league of its own and moving ahead with deep self-confidence.
He also paid tributes to Babasaheb Ambedkar on his Mahaparinirvan Diwas. (ANI)
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