In the face of high inflation and unemployment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been repeatedly telling voters that India is just beginning a ¡°golden era¡± that will run for the next quarter century.
¡°On the first morning of this amrit kaal I am filled with pride to see such an immensely endowed nation,¡± Modi said Monday in a speech to mark the 75th anniversary of independence from British rule, delivered from the ramparts of the 17th century Red Fort in the Indian capital. The phrase ¡°amrit kaal¡± first made a prominent appearance in a Modi speech on the same day last year, when he described it as a journey of a ¡°new India¡± for the next 25 years.
Modi used the term 14 times in his address on Monday. That¡¯s the most on a single day so far this year according to a Bloomberg News analysis of dozens of speeches over the past 12 months, which shows that Modi¡¯s use of amrit kaal appears to spike when his government has been under pressure.
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