Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long framed his leadership around the theme of Atmanirbhar Bharat-a self-reliant India. On September 20, during an event in Gujarat where he inaugurated maritime projects worth over $40 billion, Modi sharpened this message further, declaring that India’s greatest adversary is not another country, but the nation’s deep reliance on external powers.

“In the true sense, if we have any enemy, it is dependence on other countries,” he said, emphasizing that genuine prosperity and security can only come through self-sufficiency. His comments highlight a recurring theme in his rhetoric: the danger of leaving India’s economy vulnerable to foreign policy shocks and global market fluctuations.

What makes Modi’s declaration striking is the implicit rejection of conventional adversarial framing. India has historically viewed its security challenges through the lens of hostile neighbors, particularly Pakistan and China. Yet Modi’s statement reframes the debate, suggesting that dependency itself-whether economic, technological, or industrial-is a greater long-term threat than cross-border disputes.

By doing so, Modi sought to link national security with economic independence. His message reflects a broader worldview: that a nation vulnerable to external supply chains or foreign monopolies is inherently at risk, regardless of military strength.

Modi’s remarks were delivered against the backdrop of an ambitious maritime development push. Five decades ago, Indian-owned ships carried 40% of the nation’s overseas trade. Today, that figure has dwindled to just 5%. Instead, the vast majority of India’s shipping needs are fulfilled by foreign companies, costing the nation billions in foreign exchange annually.

To dramatize the scale of the problem, Modi compared these payments to........

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