PM Modi's Dussehra Speech: Unite to Defeat Enemies of the Nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his Vijayadashami address in Delhi on Tuesday evening to make a pointed political appeal: every citizen, every institution and every political party, he said, must come together to "identify the enemies of Mother India" and defeat them. He spoke at the Ravana Dahan organised by the Shri Ramlila Committee Indraprastha at Utsav Ground in east Delhi's IP Extension, hours after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat delivered his annual Dussehra speech in Nagpur.

The speech, released in English by the Press Information Bureau later that night, mixed the familiar themes of a Dussehra address – the life of Lord Ram, the idea of Ram Rajya and the victory of good over evil – with a call for national unity that has already drawn attention in a week of protests and sharp political exchanges.

What PM Modi said at Utsav Ground

Modi opened with chants of "Jai Shri Ram" and greetings to the country before turning to the lessons he drew from Lord Ram's life. He described Ram Rajya as a system with no discrimination, where everyone receives justice and equal opportunity, and where "the purpose of power is not to rule but to serve." From that, he said, came the mantra of "Citizen First" and the duty to put service to the poor and deprived above everything else.

He then linked the Ramayana to the government's two big slogans. Lord Ram, he said, did not wait for others when the ocean stood between him and Lanka; he trusted his own strength, mobilised the people and used the resources he had. The same approach, Modi argued, is needed to reach the goals of a Viksit Bharat (Developed India) and an Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India).

The "enemies of the nation" line

The part of the address that made headlines came towards the end. Quoting a Rigveda verse on shared thought and shared councils, the Prime Minister said all institutions and all political parties should stand together in the national interest. He then defined who he meant by enemies: those forces that attack the honour and dignity of the country, those who divide society and those who harbour hatred towards Indian culture.

"We must identify the enemies of Mother India. We must defeat them," he said, asking people to take the pledge of "Nation First." He did not name any party, group or country.

Heritage and returned idols

Modi also spoke about national self-respect and heritage. He said more than 650 ancient idols had been brought back to India in the past twelve years, that several Indian sites had been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in recent years, and that Diwali was included last year in UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. He closed by recalling the "From Ram to Nation" and "From Divinity to National Duty" vision he spoke of at the Ayodhya temple consecration.

Key facts at a glance

The backdrop: Bhagwat's Nagpur speech and the protests

The Prime Minister's words came on the same day Mohan Bhagwat addressed the RSS's Vijayadashami Utsav in Nagpur, the organisation's foundation day. Bhagwat argued that changing a regime does not solve a country's underlying problems, pointed to recent upheavals in Bangladesh, Nepal, France and Albania, and said outside forces sometimes use regime change to serve their own interests. Protests, he said, are a normal part of democracy but should aim at solutions rather than political agendas or social division.

Both speeches landed in the middle of a tense political moment in the capital. Youth protests linked to the Cockroach Janta Party have drawn crowds in Delhi and other states, and two of its leaders are in judicial custody and have approached the Delhi High Court. The BJP has alleged that protests in the national capital and several states were staged at the behest of foreign forces that do not want India to progress. Against that background, the "enemies of the nation" line was read by many as a message well beyond the festival ground.

Elsewhere in Delhi, President Droupadi Murmu attended the Ravana Dahan organised by the Dwarka Shri Ramlila Society, where Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also present. In her message, the President called Vijayadashami the triumph of dharma over adharma and urged citizens to help build an inclusive society.

What it means for readers

For most people, Dussehra speeches are ceremonial. This one is worth paying attention to because it sets the tone for the coming months. The government is pushing its development and self-reliance message, while a sharper argument is building over protests, regime-change fears and who gets to define national interest. Expect the opposition to question who exactly the Prime Minister was referring to, and expect the BJP to keep returning to the theme of "Nation First" in its campaigns.

What happens next

The Cockroach Janta Party leaders have sought an urgent Delhi High Court hearing against their custody extension, and Parliament's winter session is not far away. Political reactions to both the Modi and Bhagwat speeches are likely to dominate the next few days, especially as parties gear up for the 2027 round of Assembly elections.

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