Peace is impossible without power, says Indian PM Modi

‘We have always considered war as the last option’

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Monday said peace is impossible to attain without power, even as his government has always viewed war as the last resort.

Mr Modi was addressing the armed forces in the Himalayan Kargil frontier region, which was at the centre of the 1999 India-Pakistan war, on the occasion of the Hindu festival of Diwali, keeping with the tradition set by him to celebrate the festival at the country’s frontiers.

He said: "We have always considered war as the last option.... till the end, every effort was made to prevent it. We are in the favour of world peace."

However, he added that India will not shy away from giving a befitting reply to anyone who "dares to look at us with evil eyes".

The prime minister, who has been mostly on the fence over Russia's occupation in Ukraine, said that the Indian flag has become “a protective shield” for citizens stuck in the war-hit country.

Earlier in October, Mr Modi told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky that India is ready to contribute to peace efforts in the ongoing conflict with Russia that has entered its eighth month.

"He expressed his firm conviction that there can be no military solution to the conflict and conveyed India's readiness to contribute to any peace efforts," the Indian prime minister's office said in a statement.

In his speech on Monday, the leader of the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recalled visiting the region in the aftermath of the conflict when the Indian military had "crushed the hood of terror".

"There has not been a single war with Pakistan when Kargil has not flown the victory flag," he said, adding that Diwali symbolised the "celebration of the end of terror".

He continued: "In Kargil, our armed forces had crushed the hood of terror and people still remember the Diwali that was celebrated back then."

Mr Modi said that all three defence forces have taken steps to reduce their dependence on imported equipment. "The country is secured when its borders are protected and economy is strong. In the past seven-eight years, India's economy has reached the fifth position from 10th.”

He added that his government over the last eight years has worked on implementing reforms in the armed forces by opening positions for women in the forces, deploying new technologies and developing infrastructure in border areas.