Heritage, Governance, and Growth: Modi’s Blueprint for Bharat’s Next 25 Years

Paromita Das

New Delhi, 20th  November: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while delivering the Sixth Ramnath Goenka Lecture on November 17, 2025, called for a decisive break from the colonial legacy that has long influenced Bharat’s social and intellectual landscape. He urged the country to discard the deep-seated colonial mindset, so embedded by Thomas Macaulay’s infamous 1835 education reforms, which had aimed to replace indigenous knowledge systems with Western ideals. Modi proposed a journey of transformation over 10 years, leading up to 2035-that is, 200 years after Macaulay’s project-which would redevelop pride in Bharatiya heritage, knowledge, and languages, while embracing global learning.

The Colonial Shadow on Bharatiya Psyche

Modi underlined how Macaulay’s project was to produce Bharatiya who would look local but think like the colonizer, with an inferiority complex deeply entrenched in the psyche. “Bharat paid a heavy price,” Modi noted, signaling how this systematic destruction of indigenous frameworks led Bharat to ape foreign models rather than nourish homegrown systems in education, economy, and society. To Modi, rejecting one’s own ecosystem means erosion of identity: “When a nation does not honour itself, it ends up rejecting its indigenous ecosystem.”

Heritage: a Source of Growth

Demonstrating the cost of this colonial mindset, Modi pointed out that countries which preserved and celebrated their heritage-including Japan and South Korea-have seen exponential growth in tourism and economies. On the other hand, Bharat, stuck in a post-colonial crisis, moved further away from its multifaceted heritage. Modi clarified that preservation is nurtured by pride in one’s heritage alone; without it, cultural treasures simply remain relics. The National Education Policy of the government reflects this belief through its provision for promoting Bharatiya languages and knowledge systems alongside English for inclusiveness rather than exclusion.

Politics, Development, and Social Justice

The lecture also took up current political scenarios, especially the recent Bihar Assembly election, where Modi drove home the point that good governance, rather than electoral theatrics, was needed. He drew sharp contrasts with past misgovernance, saying that RJD’s so-called ‘Jungle Raj’ under Lalu Prasad Yadav was a bygone era of misused power instead of using it for development. Modi went on to criticize political parties that he says camouflage their vested interests with the rhetoric of social justice and asked everyone to remember that it is in expediting welfare that real justice lies, reflected in Bharat’s social security network covering 94 crore people today, up from 25 crore a decade ago.

Combating Extremism and Congress Critique

PM Modi also spoke to the shrinking Maoist presence across Bharat, which signifies strides against the internal security challenges. He blamed the Congress party for fostering Maoist ideology in elite institutions and labeled it a ‘Maoist Muslim League Congress,’ suggesting a cocktail of divisive politics and extremism. The sharp attack underlined the stern posture of the government against ideologies perceived as an impediment to Bharat’s progress and unity.

Reclaiming Identity and Prioritizing Development

Modi’s lecture becomes a strong call to reclaim the national identity by shaking off the colonial hangovers and fostering pride in indigenity. The call for the preservation of culture along with modern education speaks to a fine balance in nation-building, one that successfully marries heritage with global openness. Politically, too, this critique is a reminder that sustainable development, transparent governance, and welfare inclusiveness have to replace electoral victories and tussles over power.

Towards a Confident, Self-Reliant Bharat

As Bharat enters the bicentenary of Macaulay’s reforms, the vision of PM Modi offers a roadmap for the decade ahead and is anchored in self-respect, indigenous knowledge, and economic vibrancy. His message transcends politics to implore every Bharatiya to be genuinely proud of their history, seriously urgent towards development, and to make sure social justice is reality, not rhetoric. This is a well-rounded path that positions Bharat to attain its goal of not just being an emerging market but a hopeful model for the world.