We always knew Prime Minister Narendra Modi liked his friends (well, mitron) and his acronyms, but did you know that he also enjoys using a big number as rhetorical crutch?
Picking up on the theme of Team India in his second Independence Day speech on Saturday as the nation rang in its 69th year, Modi decided to remind every watching just how many people there are in the country. And then did it again, and again and again. Just in case you weren't paying attention, there are 125 crore people in the country and they all form part of a team, known, naturally as Team India.
Modi would end up saying 'sava sau crore' (125 crore), 28 times in the speech, with Team India coming right behind it at 22 mentions.
What returned from last year's speech
*Jan Dhan Yojana: Modi pointed out that the financial inclusion scheme has seen 17 crore bank accounts opened (although 46% of those have no money in them).
*Swachh Bharat: The prime minister thanked people from all walks of life for popularising the cleanliness drive and called on children to be the brand ambassadors for it.
*Toilets: According to Modi the promise of separate toilets for boys and girls in schools across the country has almost been fulfilled, (but, again most of them don't have water).
What surprisingly didn't get a mention
*Make in India: With the economy, and particularly private industry as well as exports not being quite as successful as Modi might have hoped, he avoided the subject altogether.
*Digital India *NITI Aayog: Much was said last year about the Planning Commission being shuttered as a signal of India taking a different approach to policymaking, but the body that replaced it (which is just starting to get going) wasn't mentioned.
*Sangachhadhwam: "We are not for moving forward on the basis of majority, we are not interested to move forward by virtue of majority," Modi said in his first I-day speech. "We want to move ahead on the basis of strong consensus." The Sanskrit term for walking together, as a way of going beyond majoritarianism and taking the Opposition along, didn't get talked about, probably cause it isn't exactly working.
*Foreign Policy: Last time Modi spoke a fair bit about Nepal, Bhutan as well as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation as part of his Neighbourhood First policy. This time it was all India, all the time.
What was new
*Team India: Yes those 125 crore people you kept hearing about. They're going to be talked about a lot.
*Start-up Stand-up: No this isn't referring to stand-up comics who need a leg up business-wise. Instead, Modi spoke about wanting to boost entrepreneurship, asking each of the country's 1.25 lakh bank branches to give a loan to at least one Dalit, woman and Adivasi entrepreneur.
*Bijli: Modi promised to electrify all the 18,500 villages that are currently unconnected to the grid within the next 1,000 days.
What was sort-of mentioned
*Communalism: Modi insisted that "casteism and communalism" have no place in our society, although he didn't evaluate the implementation of his 10-year moratorium on communal elements.
*One Rank One Pension: Modi admitted that he, like governments before, had promised this. But he was unable to put a date on its implementation, which is making many unhappy.
What was said about the Congress
*This dig: "The sick give tips to others on health."
*And this one: "We changed the system without stealing your money or seeking praise."
*And one more: "I didn't tell you that I was going to shut the door on those who steal from you. We did it and then showed you."
*And finally (with a careful caveat): "In 15 months of this government in Delhi, there has been not even one allegation of corruption over even one rupee."
Mandatory newstrader jab
"Agar main koyle ki baat karoonga toh kuch political pundit use rajneeti ke tarazu se tolenge." (If I start talking about coal, some political pundit will surely say I'm politicising things).
Classic imagery
*The Development Pyramid: Dalits, Adivasis and the poor form the bottom of the pyramid. But only if the base is strong, can the entire pyramid be strong.
*The Black Money injection: "When you take injections, the doctor tells you, you will have side effects. We have made this law to bring back black money and a lot of people have asked us to dilute it... I'm asking the 125 crore people of Team India, you should be ready to fight black money even with the side effects."
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Picking up on the theme of Team India in his second Independence Day speech on Saturday as the nation rang in its 69th year, Modi decided to remind every watching just how many people there are in the country. And then did it again, and again and again. Just in case you weren't paying attention, there are 125 crore people in the country and they all form part of a team, known, naturally as Team India.
Modi would end up saying 'sava sau crore' (125 crore), 28 times in the speech, with Team India coming right behind it at 22 mentions.
This is Team India, a team of 125 crore Indians. This is the Team that makes the Nation and takes our Nation to new heights: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 15, 2015
'Sava sau karod' is trending.
— Highway Man (@The_Lie_Lama) August 15, 2015What returned from last year's speech
*Jan Dhan Yojana: Modi pointed out that the financial inclusion scheme has seen 17 crore bank accounts opened (although 46% of those have no money in them).
*Swachh Bharat: The prime minister thanked people from all walks of life for popularising the cleanliness drive and called on children to be the brand ambassadors for it.
*Toilets: According to Modi the promise of separate toilets for boys and girls in schools across the country has almost been fulfilled, (but, again most of them don't have water).
What surprisingly didn't get a mention
*Make in India: With the economy, and particularly private industry as well as exports not being quite as successful as Modi might have hoped, he avoided the subject altogether.
*Digital India *NITI Aayog: Much was said last year about the Planning Commission being shuttered as a signal of India taking a different approach to policymaking, but the body that replaced it (which is just starting to get going) wasn't mentioned.
*Sangachhadhwam: "We are not for moving forward on the basis of majority, we are not interested to move forward by virtue of majority," Modi said in his first I-day speech. "We want to move ahead on the basis of strong consensus." The Sanskrit term for walking together, as a way of going beyond majoritarianism and taking the Opposition along, didn't get talked about, probably cause it isn't exactly working.
*Foreign Policy: Last time Modi spoke a fair bit about Nepal, Bhutan as well as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation as part of his Neighbourhood First policy. This time it was all India, all the time.
What was new
*Team India: Yes those 125 crore people you kept hearing about. They're going to be talked about a lot.
*Start-up Stand-up: No this isn't referring to stand-up comics who need a leg up business-wise. Instead, Modi spoke about wanting to boost entrepreneurship, asking each of the country's 1.25 lakh bank branches to give a loan to at least one Dalit, woman and Adivasi entrepreneur.
*Bijli: Modi promised to electrify all the 18,500 villages that are currently unconnected to the grid within the next 1,000 days.
What was sort-of mentioned
*Communalism: Modi insisted that "casteism and communalism" have no place in our society, although he didn't evaluate the implementation of his 10-year moratorium on communal elements.
*One Rank One Pension: Modi admitted that he, like governments before, had promised this. But he was unable to put a date on its implementation, which is making many unhappy.
What was said about the Congress
*This dig: "The sick give tips to others on health."
*And this one: "We changed the system without stealing your money or seeking praise."
*And one more: "I didn't tell you that I was going to shut the door on those who steal from you. We did it and then showed you."
*And finally (with a careful caveat): "In 15 months of this government in Delhi, there has been not even one allegation of corruption over even one rupee."
Modi is speaking as if the General Elections begin next week.
— Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) August 15, 2015Mandatory newstrader jab
"Agar main koyle ki baat karoonga toh kuch political pundit use rajneeti ke tarazu se tolenge." (If I start talking about coal, some political pundit will surely say I'm politicising things).
Classic imagery
*The Development Pyramid: Dalits, Adivasis and the poor form the bottom of the pyramid. But only if the base is strong, can the entire pyramid be strong.
*The Black Money injection: "When you take injections, the doctor tells you, you will have side effects. We have made this law to bring back black money and a lot of people have asked us to dilute it... I'm asking the 125 crore people of Team India, you should be ready to fight black money even with the side effects."