Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India’s economy will be among the top three in thModi did not address these concerns in his speech, instead lauding India’s journey over the decades.

“We are lucky to have demography, democracy and diversity,” he said, after noting that India was now the most populous country in the world according to some estimates. The Indian government is yet to release official population data, and its last census is from 2011.

Modi highlighted India’s rise on the global stage and said a new world order was emerging after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“India is becoming the voice of the global South. We are bringing the promise of stability to the world,” he said, adding that all eyes would be on India as it hosts the G-20 Summit in New Delhi next month.

The prime minister also reiterated calls for peace in the northeastern state of Manipur, where a near civil war has raged for months and killed over 150 people. He said the country stands with the people of Manipur and that resolution can only be achieved through peace.

Since clashes between two dominant ethnic groups erupted in early May, residents in Manipur have protested against the state government, ruled by Modi’s party, and called for the firing of its chief minister.

Over 50,000 people have fled the state, where violence has persisted despite a heavy army presence. Armed mobs have torched buildings, massacred civilians and looted weapons from state armories.

But for three months, the strongman leader was largely silent on the conflict in Manipur. His role, or lack thereof, sparked a no-confidence motion against his government in Parliament. Modi defeated the motion last week, after appealing for peace in Manipur for the first time since the conflict began.

India celebrates its Independence Day a day after its neighbor Pakistan. The two separate states came into existence as a result of the bloody partition of British India in 1947.

The process sparked some of the worst communal violence the world has seen and left hundreds of thousands dead. It triggered one of the largest human migrations in history and some 12 million people fled their homes.