India has never been hungry for land, PM Modi says

India has neither attacked any country nor shown interest to grab anyone’s land, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.

Modi’s comments come close on the heels of the surgical strikes claimed by New Delhi on suspected militants preparing to infiltrate from Kashmir.

The raids, which were a direct response to a September 18 attack on an army base in Uri, near the LoC, that killed 19 soldiers, has escalated tension between India and Pakistan.

Modi recalled the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers protecting foreign lands in the two world wars, and added that the world must recognise this sacrifice.

“This country has never been hungry for land. This country has never attacked any other country. But still, for someone else, more than 150,000 Indians became martyrs during the first and second world wars,” said Modi after inaugurating the Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, a facility dedicated to the Indian community abroad.

Domestic pressure had been building on Modi’s government to retaliate after 19 soldiers were killed in a September 18 attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir that India blames on infiltrators who crossed from Pakistani territory.

India has also launched a diplomatic campaign to try to isolate Pakistan. Its decision on Tuesday to boycott a summit of South Asian leaders in November in Islamabad was followed by Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan expressing their “inability” to attend.