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New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s Diwali address aboard the Indian Navy\u2019s aircraft carrier INS Vikrant has been widely criticized as a political spectacle designed to mask India\u2019s deep military, operational, and structural weaknesses.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, independent data and defence analyses reveal stark contradictions between Modi\u2019s rhetoric of \u201cmaritime strength\u201d and India\u2019s actual defence preparedness, exposing the country\u2019s widening credibility gap before the international community.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s defence exports stood at a mere $2.1 billion in 2024\u201325, compared to $13.5 billion in imports, making a mockery of Modi\u2019s claim that India is on track to become the \u201cworld\u2019s largest defence exporter.\u201d Despite massive spending, the Indian Army\u2014responsible for most operational engagements\u2014remains severely under-equipped, with thousands of missing small arms, and shortages of tanks and artillery.<\/p>\n
Observers note that Modi\u2019s focus on the INS Vikrant\u2014a INR 23,000 crore project\u2014highlights India\u2019s skewed defence priorities. While the Navy received INR 1.2 trillion in the 2024\u201325 budget, the Army and Air Force were allocated smaller shares, despite bearing the brunt of India\u2019s border conflicts. Critics have dubbed INS Vikrant a \u201cwhite elephant\u201d\u2014symbolically grand, but strategically hollow.<\/p>\n
Modi\u2019s assertion that Indian forces \u201cshattered the enemy\u201d during Operation Sindhoor has also been debunked. Reports by SIPRI and Jane\u2019s Defence confirmed that India failed to secure any decisive advantage along the Line of Control and Siachen. Neutral observers, including UN and EU analysts, described the outcome as a stalemate, contradicting New Delhi\u2019s triumphalist narrative.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Modi\u2019s claim that the Indian Navy \u201cblocked Pakistani ships\u201d has been proven false. Satellite data and international maritime reports show that INS Vikrant made no combat sorties during Operation Sindhoor, and that no Pakistani naval vessel was interdicted.<\/p>\n
Experts say Modi\u2019s insistence on using the military for political theater undermines professionalism and injects Hindutva symbolism into the armed forces. His Diwali celebrations aboard Vikrant were seen less as an act of solidarity and more as an extension of BJP\u2019s ideological messaging, turning the forces into instruments of propaganda.<\/p>\n
Despite portraying INS Vikrant as a symbol of \u201cAatmanirbhar Bharat,\u201d defence analysts reveal that over 40% of its components\u2014including propulsion, radar, and avionics\u2014were imported. The ship\u2019s construction suffered eight years of delay and a 50% cost overrun, undermining Modi\u2019s claim of self-reliance.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s wider security picture remains grim. Maoist insurgencies recorded over 2,100 incidents in 2024, while freedom movements in IIOJK, Ladakh, and Punjab continue to challenge state control. Instead of addressing these crises, Modi\u2019s speeches attempt to project strength abroad while suppressing dissent at home.<\/p>\n
Defence experts warn that India\u2019s militaristic rhetoric and prestige-driven spending risk destabilizing the region, especially as it lags far behind China\u2019s 350-ship navy and advanced maritime capabilities.<\/p>\n
Analysts conclude that Modi\u2019s speech aboard INS Vikrant was less a celebration of strength and more a desperate attempt to rewrite the failures of Operation Sindhoor through spectacle and symbolism. Behind the slogans of \u201cself-reliance\u201d and \u201cnational pride\u201d lies a fractured reality\u2014of underfunded troops, inflated claims, and a military increasingly subservient to political ideology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s Diwali address aboard the Indian Navy\u2019s aircraft carrier INS Vikrant has been widely criticized as a political spectacle designed to mask India\u2019s deep military, operational, and structural weaknesses. According to Kashmir Media Service, independent data and defence analyses reveal stark contradictions between Modi\u2019s rhetoric of \u201cmaritime strength\u201d and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":186123,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-186122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2025\/10\/oper-sindoor.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186122"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":186124,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186122\/revisions\/186124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}