PM mentions youth 52 times in Independence Day speech:‘India’ most frequently used; also repeats ‘Naxalism’ and ‘poverty’ in 75-minute address

Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a 75-minute Independence Day address from the Red Fort on August 15. During the speech, he used the word ‘Bharat’ (India) most frequently, mentioning it 111 times, while the word ‘world’ appeared 62 times. Modi referred to young people 52 times, using terms such as ‘youth’, ‘youngsters’, ‘youth power’ and ‘friends’. Other words and themes, including Naxalism, poverty, digital technology and the Red Fort, were also repeated throughout the address. Words related to Naxalism were used 15 times, while references to poverty and the poor appeared seven times. The phrase ‘Red Fort’ was mentioned 11 times, and ‘digital’ appeared 10 times. PM Modi said ‘My dear countrymen’ 40 times In his speech from the Red Fort, Modi addressed the people most often by saying ‘My dear countrymen’. It was used about 40 times. After this, ‘friends’ came 10 times. Addressing the youth, he used ‘My dear youth’ once. ‘Country’s servants’ and ‘brothers and sisters’ were also used once each. After ‘fellow citizens’, ‘family members’ is PM Modi’s preferred form of address ‘Fellow citizens’ has long been one of PM Modi’s preferred forms of address in his Independence Day speeches. He used the term around 50 times in 2025, 30 times in 2024, 15 times in 2023 and more than 40 times in 2022. Meanwhile, ‘family members’ has also featured prominently in Modi’s speeches. In 2023, it was his most frequently used form of address, with him using it around 50 times. He also used ‘friends and companions’ around 35 times in 2025, 30 times in 2024, five times in 2023 and around eight times in 2022. PM’s shortest speech in four years Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 75-minute Independence Day address this year was his shortest in the past four years. It was also his fourth-shortest Independence Day speech to date. In 2025, Modi delivered a 103-minute address, his longest Independence Day speech so far. In 2024, his speech lasted 98 minutes, while in 2023, it lasted 90 minutes. Modi’s first Independence Day speech from the Red Fort in 2014 lasted 65 minutes. He spoke for 88 minutes in 2015, 96 minutes in 2016 and 56 minutes in 2017. His 56-minute address in 2017 remains his shortest Independence Day speech to date. His subsequent speeches lasted 83 minutes in 2018, around 92 minutes in 2019, 90 minutes in 2020, 88 minutes in 2021 and 74 minutes in 2022. Modi delivers his 13th consecutive Independence Day address from Red Fort PM Modi addressed the nation from the Red Fort for the 13th consecutive time this year. In 2025, he delivered his 12th consecutive Independence Day speech, surpassing former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s record. However, Jawaharlal Nehru still holds the record for the most consecutive Independence Day addresses from the Red Fort, with 17 speeches. Modi is currently second with 13. ​