The North News
Bhavnagar(Gujarat), September 20
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India’s greatest adversary was not any foreign nation but the country’s reliance on others, urging citizens to embrace self-reliance to secure future generations.
“India has no major enemy in the world. Our biggest enemy is our dependence on other countries. The greater the foreign dependence, the greater the country’s failure,” Prime Minister Modi said while speaking at a public rally in Bhavnagar of Gujarat. He stressed that the world’s most populous nation must not leave its future to “external forces” and warned that foreign dependence undermined national self-respect. “There is only one medicine for a hundred sorrows — a self-reliant India,” he said. The Prime Minister also inaugurated and laid foundation stones for development projects worth more than ₹34,200 crore during the ‘Samudra se Samriddhi’ (prosperity from the ocean) event. He also highlighted the importance of the maritime sector, announcing reforms such as “One Nation, One Document” and “One Nation, One Port” processes to simplify trade.
Modi criticised previous governments for policies that he said weakened India’s shipping industry, once among the strongest in the world. He noted that India now spends nearly $75bn annually on freight to foreign shipping companies — almost equal to the country’s defence budget. He said if earlier administrations had invested in domestic shipbuilding, India could today be a global leader in maritime trade. “If India is to become a developed nation by 2047, it must become self-reliant — whether it is chips or ships, they must be made in India,” he said.
The Prime Minister also linked his vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) to national unity, paying tribute to Krishnakumarsinh Ji for his role in supporting Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s mission of integration. Modi referred to service activities underway across the country as part of ‘Seva Pakhwada’, including blood donation drives, health camps, and cleanliness campaigns. He added that Gujarat had seen active participation in the initiative, which runs from Vishwakarma Jayanti to Gandhi Jayanti.
