In Udupi, PM Modi Links India’s Security Doctrine to the Bhagavad Gita: “This New India Bows Before None”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday turned a massive spiritual gathering in Udupi into a platform for one of his sharpest national-security articulations, declaring that India’s defence doctrine is rooted in the Bhagavad Gita and asserting that “this new India bows before none.”

While the Laksha Kantha Gita Parayana event drew one lakh voices reciting the Gita, the Prime Minister used the occasion to underline that the scripture’s message forms the philosophical backbone of the country’s modern security posture—guided by Mission Sudarshan Chakra and reinforced through actions like Operation Sindoor after the Pahalgam terror attack.

Modi said the Gita teaches that peace requires firmness against forces of oppression, a principle he said now drives India’s security doctrine. Mission Sudarshan Chakra, described as an impenetrable shield for key national institutions and industries, was presented as a decisive step in strengthening internal and external preparedness.

"Shri Krishna delivered the sermons of the Gita on a battlefield. Bhagwat Gita teaches us that it is important to end the oppressor to restore peace and truth. This is the essence of the National Security policy. Earlier, governments did not retaliate after terror attacks, but it is new India now (par ye naya Bharat hai). We know how to establish peace, and also safeguard it."

Referring to Operation Sindoor, launched soon after the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed several Karnataka lives, the Prime Minister said India no longer responds passively to such assaults. "Earlier governments would sit idle. But this is a new India that protects its citizens with resolve," he said.

Against this security backdrop, Modi said the recitation of Gita verses by one lakh voices had displayed India’s civilisational strength and the power of collective consciousness before the world. He praised the initiative led by Sri Sri Sri Sugunendra Theertha Swamiji, including the global movement encouraging handwritten copies of the Gita.

PM Modi said such efforts connect the youth with India’s timeless knowledge systems, in line with traditions passed down through the Vedas, Upanishads and the Haridasa movement.

The Prime Minister also reflected on Udupi’s deep cultural and political heritage, calling it both the karmabhoomi of Madhvacharya and an early laboratory of the Jan Sangh’s governance ideas. He recalled how Udupi pioneered cleanliness campaigns and effective water-supply models decades before such programmes became national missions.

Modi said the region’s link to Dwarka and the Ram Temple movement added further significance, especially with the Madhvacharya gateway now installed in the Ayodhya temple complex. He said the teachings of Lord Krishna guide not just spiritual life but India’s public policy landscape.

The principle of welfare for all, he said, shapes programmes like Ayushman Bharat and PM Awas; the emphasis on women’s dignity inspires the Nari Shakti Vandan Act; and the idea of global harmony supports India’s initiatives such as the Solar Alliance and the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam approach.

Modi outlined nine resolutions for citizens, calling them essential duties for the era leading up to 2047. These included water conservation, planting trees, helping at least one poor person, adopting swadeshi and vocal-for-local practices, promoting natural farming, maintaining a healthy lifestyle with millets, adopting yoga, preserving ancient manuscripts under the Gyan Bharatham Mission, and visiting at least 25 heritage sites across India.

He also urged the eight mutts of Udupi, youth organisations and devotees to help carry these resolutions across the country.

Recalling his recent visits to Kurukshetra and Ayodhya, Modi said India’s sacred geography and living traditions continue to inspire national resolve. The "compositions of Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa," he said, "still touch hearts and connect young people with their spiritual heritage, just as the window darshan of Lord Krishna in Udupi has done for centuries."

Stating that the coming decades mark India’s era of duty, the Prime Minister said Karnataka’s hardworking people would play a major role in shaping a developed India. He concluded by seeking blessings for unity, national commitment, and the collective determination required to build a secure, confident and prosperous future.

"Coming to Udupi is very special for me. Udupi has been the karmabhoomi of the Jana Sangh and the Bharatiya Janta Party's model of good governance. In 1968, the people of Udupi elected VS Acharya of the Jana Sangh to the Udupi Municipal Corporation. With this, Udupi laid the foundation of a new governance model," he said.