Modi was speaking at the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas celebrations in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, marking the 151st birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, according to a release from the Press Information Bureau.

He also named securing the borders, halting infiltration and moving toward a Secular Civil Code as the country's next priorities, and set the goal of a developed India by 2047.

Naxalism and the 'dimagi' threat

"Today the back of Naxalism has been broken in the country," Modi said, adding that 126 districts were affected by Left-Wing Extremism in 2015 and none remained by March 2026.

He recalled a vow made a year earlier, at the 150th anniversary of Patel's birth, not to rest until Naxalism and Maoist violence were eradicated.

He said areas scarred by decades of violence are now joining the development mainstream, with roads, mobile networks, schools and healthcare reaching them.

"The danger of 'dimagi Naxals' has not yet been eliminated from across the country," he said, according to a report of the speech. The Press Information Bureau's version renders the line as "ideological extremists."

Modi also accused the Opposition of being an "Avrodh Paksh," or obstructive force, the same report said, and urged people to guard against forces he said spread misinformation and divide the country.

What the term means

"Dimagi Naxals," or "intellectual Naxals," echoes the "urban Naxal" label that Modi and BJP leaders have used for activists, academics and other critics of the government.

Modi used the phrase in his Independence Day speech on August 15, when he said such people should be "identified and isolated," the report said.

The term as politically charged and noted that rights groups have long accused the government of using security and foreign-funding laws against critics.

Poverty claims

Modi said a World Bank report shows 50 crore Indians moved out of poverty in the 10 to 12 years before 2024.

"Where earlier 27 out of 100 people were in the grip of extreme poverty, today this number has remained less than 3," he said.

He said social security coverage has grown from under 25 crore people before 2014 to nearly 100 crore today, crediting direct benefit transfers, free ration, free healthcare, housing, toilets and insurance cover.

Modi said the country must completely secure its borders, halt infiltration and demographic change, and advance toward a Secular Civil Code, without giving details or a timeline, according to the release.

He said big decisions would meet obstacles but the nation would not be deterred.

"We will reach the pinnacle of hard work, we will firmly confront tempests, but our vision will remain on a single goal, the making of a strong and capable India by 2047," he said.

Modi said Patel united more than 550 princely states after independence "with iron determination" and was the reason modern India can be imagined as one country.

Families from formerly Naxal-affected areas attended as special guests, and Modi paid tribute to security personnel killed in the campaign against Naxalism.

The day included a National Unity Parade dedicated to the valour of police and security forces, the release said.