Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday switched from Hindi to English in his first public address since the Pahalgam massacre, seeking to convey to the “whole world” India’s resolve to pursue the terrorists to the “ends of the Earth”.

Addressing a rally in Bihar where Assembly polls are due this year, Modi said India would “identify, trace and punish every terrorist and their backers” responsible for Tuesday’s killing of 25 tourists and a local Kashmiri.

Modi began his speech in Hindi, promising the attackers a “punishment they cannot imagine”, before briefly switching to English in an apparent attempt to reach a global audience.

“Today, on the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world, India will identify, trace and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth,” he said at an event to mark Panchayati Raj Day.

“India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished. Every effort will be made to make sure that justice is done.”

The Prime Minister said that everyone who believes in humanity was with India: “I thank the people of various countries and their leaders who have stood with us.”

A soldier during a search operation in Anantnag district on Thursday. PTI

Most of the diplomatic missions in India posted on X translated excerpts from the Prime Minister’s speech.

Modi did not name Pakistan, but his strong messaging to the international community came a day after India announced retaliatory diplomatic pushbacks against Islamabad, making it plain it blamed the neighbour for the attack.

The government on Wednesday said the 1960 Indus Water Treaty was being kept in abeyance, sealed the integrated border checkpoint at Attari, and asked all Pakistanis to leave the country within 48 hours.

Sources in the BJP said Modi’s speech on Thursday was a signal to the global
community that he was considering further action on Pakistan. “Expect a big action against Pakistan,” a senior BJP leader said.

Modi had begun his speech in Hindi by asking the crowd to observe silence for the Pahalgam victims while remembering their God.

In the Hindi part of his speech, he sought to reinforce the image of a strong and decisive leader, promising “kalpana se bhi badi saza (punishment beyond imagination)” for the perpetrators and planners of the attack.

“I want to say this in very clear words: Those who carried out this terror attack and those who planned it will receive a punishment beyond their imagination. They will be punished,” Modi said.

“Ab atankiyon ki bachi kuchi zameen ko bhi mitti mein milane ka samay aa gaya hai (The time has come to flatten the remaining land of the terrorists),” Modi said, adding that the “resolve of 140 crore Indians will now break the back of the masters of terror”.

Modi, who had cut short his Saudi Arabia trip and returned after Tuesday’s terror attack, had so far maintained silence and let defence minister Rajnath Singh speak about strong retribution.

On Thursday, Modi was scheduled to launch development projects and address a rally in Kanpur but cancelled the event on the grounds that one of the Pahalgam victims was from the Uttar Pradesh city.

He, however, went ahead with the event at Madhubani in poll-bound Bihar.

The Prime Minister cited the diverse backgrounds of the Pahalgam victims.

“Among those killed, someone spoke Bangla, someone was Marathi, someone spoke Kannada, someone was Odia, someone was Gujarati, and someone was the son of Bihar,” he said.

“Today, from Kargil to Kanyakumari, we are united in our grief at their deaths. We are, likewise, angry. This attack was not just one on unarmed tourists; the enemies of the nation have dared to attack the soul of India.”