NEW DELHI • Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged India to reject religious violence after a series of attacks against minorities sparked debate about whether a surge of Hindu nationalism is undermining the country's secular ideals.

In a speech from the ramparts of Delhi's Red Fort marking the 70th anniversary of India's independence yesterday, Mr Modi also listed his government's achievements, including a fight against corruption.

The speech, however, was light on foreign policy and made no mention of archrival Pakistan or China.

But he said: "Be it the sea or the borders, cyber or space - in all spheres, India is capable and we are strong enough to overcome those who try to act against our country."

India has stationed hundreds of troops along its northern border with China for nearly two months because of a territorial dispute.

Mr Modi has spoken out against attacks by right-wing Hindus, many of whom back his Hindu- nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on minority Muslims and lower-caste Hindus accused of killing cows, considered holy by the majority Hindus.

But the setting of his denunciation of violence yesterday was significant.

"We will not tolerate violence in the name of faith," Mr Modi said before a teeming crowd at the fort and a huge television audience.

Mr Modi made much of the progress India has made since independence from British rule in 1947.

But since coming to power in 2014, he has found it difficult to balance the competing demands of groups from his nationalist Hindu power base and those striving to build a modern, secular country befitting its growing economic influence.

Mr Manoj Joshi, a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation think-tank, said Mr Modi was playing "good cop, bad cop" by condemning communal violence but doing little to rein in the elements in his ruling party who are responsible for it.

"There is an obvious gap between slogan and implementation. It is a deliberate gap and it is just for the record," he said.

Mr Modi also spoke at length about delivering a "new India" by 2022, underlining his confidence of winning the next general election, due by 2019.

Strong growth and economic reforms have bolstered Mr Modi's popularity and helped his party sweep state elections in recent years, leaving the opposition severely weakened.

Still, to keep up with the demands of India's 1.3 billion people, the government needs to create millions more jobs a year, which it is struggling to do.

Analyst Ajai Shukla told NDTV: "A certain level of triumphalism... brought Mr Modi to power.

"Now, he realises people are expecting answers. He felt the need to convey an aura of progress."

Mr Modi was conciliatory towards the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir, where violent protests against Indian rule have erupted over the past year. He said neither "name-calling nor bullets" would be enough to pacify the region. What was needed, he said, were "hugs" for Kashmiris.

Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India, and is a source of conflict between them, since their creation upon the partition of British-ruled India in 1947.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE