Why did Modi's Independence Day speech lack fire?

In May this year, at the Doordarshan-mounted event to celebrate two years of his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the programme should have ideally been a week-long affair because the list of achievements of his government was too long to be deliberated upon in just a few hours.

In his third Independence Day speech, Modi made the same point and, when he consumed more than an hour on various "successes" of his government, one wondered if he would say anything of substance.

I-Day speeches have traditionally been occasions to declare intentions and schemes. In the absence of these, the emphasis was on listing accomplishments.

But since none of the mega-schemes have met with the kind of success that was initially promised, the PM listed out low-hanging fruit that this government has plucked.

Consequently, ironing faultlines in online booking of railway tickets, speeding up income tax refunds, removing red tape in registering new businesses and speeding up passport delivery processes were presented as game-changers.

Modi did not have the usual fire in his belly, though his admirers would cite his reference to Balochistan, Gilgit and PoK as evidence of his bravado.

But the PM has not said anything that was already not stated last Friday, at the all-party meeting on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Repeating almost the same points, this time on a public platform, Modi has to be assessed not on what has already been declared but how the policy towards Pakistan will be calibrated in the coming days.

An immediate decision has to be taken on the level of India's participation at the SAARC finance ministers' meeting in Islamabad.

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Close on the heels of this would be New Delhi's viewpoint on Modi's participation at the SAARC Summit.

Would India allow the summit to take place as per schedule later this year, or will Modi express inability to cross the border once again and thereby force a delay?

Despite the resolve to hold a summit every year, conflict between India and Pakistan has often delayed these congregations.

There was a gap of three-and-a-half years between July 1998 and January 2002, and again a pause for a similar duration, between November 2011 and November 2014.

After Modi's tough posturing on Independence Day, allowing the SAARC Summit later in the year will be another instance of the government's inconsistent Pakistan policy.

Almost every PM attempts to touch a plethora of issues in I-Day speeches and Modi is no different.

Also read: Modi does India proud: Takeaways from PM's 70th Independence Day speech

But there is a central narrative which runs through the speeches. Its absence reflects the multiple challenges, each one no lesser than the other, Modi is faced with.

As a result, Modi is forced to touch on major concerns - be it continuing inflation or social strife.

Yet, on the issue of inflation he does not move from his government's defence during the debate in Lok Sabha.

Modi uses the same tactic of contending that his inflation figures were lower than the UPA's, a point hardly reassuring to the aam aadmi.

It is for Modi to comprehend that inflation is the longest running electoral issue and the phrase, mehangai ki maar kamar tod gai (inflation has broken one's back), is part of popular culture.

To establish his commitment to fight price rise, Modi cited his government's decision to set the Reserve Bank of India with an inflation target as part of an agreement to make sweeping changes in deciding interest rates.

Modi may have showcased figures that convenience him today and to present a case, but there is only one sense that will form public opinion and that is people's assessment that the cost of their "thali" is stable even if it has come down.

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This was a speech delivered by a leader who heads a government beset with mid-term blues. The Modi that one has got used to watching and hearing was missing.

The customary élan that has been his strong point was not visible on this crucial occasion.

Last year, we commented that "long speeches are not necessarily inspirational".

The duration of today's speeches more or less matches the previous year's and that comment still remains valid.

Last year's speech was delivered in the backdrop of the ongoing agitation over One Rank One Pension. Modi promised to resolve it and has done so.

But his failure to mention the ongoing circle of violence in Kashmir is glaring.

One just hopes that there is a game plan different from just waiting for the embers to die out.

An opportunity to regain the initiative has slipped out.