India has set new normal, will not differentiate between terrorism and those who back terror: PM in I-day speech

New Delhi: Hailing 'Operation Sindoor', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India has now set a "new normal" of not differentiating between terrorists and those who nurture terrorism, asserting that the country has decided it will not tolerate nuclear blackmail anymore and will give a befitting reply to the enemy.

Delivering his address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 79th Independence Day in which he gave a stern warning to Pakistan, Modi said Operation Sindoor was a manifestation of the anger that the country was feeling over the Pahalgam terror attack in which terrorists from across the border carried out a gruesome massacre, killing people after asking their religion.

Modi also asserted that now "blood and water will not flow together" and said people now know that the Indus Waters Treaty was "one-sided and unjust".

"Rivers from India were irrigating the lands of enemies while my country's land faced a deficiency of water. For the last seven decades, this agreement harmed the interests of farmers," he added.

Talking about Operation Sindoor, Modi said that after Aprill 22, the armed forces were given a free hand to decide on strategy, objective and timing and the armed forces did what had not been done for decades.

"Terror headquarters inside hundreds of kilometres inside enemy territory were destroyed. Terror infrastructure was turned to rubble. Pakistan is still have sleepless nights. The destruction there is so much that new revelations are coming to the fore," he said.

Noting that the country has been suffering from terror for decades, Modi said India has now established a "new normal" of not differentiating between terrorists and those who nurture terrorism as they are both enemies of humanity.

"India has decided that it will not tolerate nuclear blackmail. For a long time, nuclear blackmail had been going on but this will not be tolerated now." Modi asserted that enemies of the country will be given a befitting reply going forward.

"Today, there is a special importance of August 15. I feel proud that from the ramparts of the Red Fort, I got the opportunity to salute the braveheart soldiers of Operation Sindoor. Our bravehearts have given such a punishment to our enemies that they never imagined," he said in his 12th consecutive Independence Day address to the nation.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 in which 26 people, mostly terrorists, were killed.

The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10.

In his address, Modi also said India's Constitution has been a guiding light showing the way for the last 75 years.

Modi hailed the contribution of the likes of Rajendra Prasad, BR Ambedkar, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and S Radhakrishnan. He said Nari Shakti's contribution has been no less. "I pay tributes to the constitution makers." Noting that SP Mookherjee's 125th birth anniversary is being celebrated, the prime minister said Mookherjee had sacrificed greatly for the Constitution.

"By bringing down the wall of Article 370 we realised the mantra of 'Ek Desh, Ek Samvidhan'." Earlier, the Prime Minister also paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat on the 79th Independence Day. The theme for this year's celebrations is 'Naya Bharat'.