Salve, a former Solicitor General, said the country had reached an “inflection point” where economic ambitions and the aspirations of a large young population were placing new demands on institutions. He argued that prosperity and individual freedom ultimately depended on a legal system capable of functioning independently and consistently.
His remarks came at a Supreme Court Bar Association event in New Delhi on July 29 marking the unveiling of a portrait of the late A. K. Sen, the distinguished lawyer and former Union Law Minister. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant attended the ceremony, while Attorney General R Venkataramani and senior advocate Vikas Singh were among the other members of the legal fraternity present.
Salve said changes in the country’s polity, shifting demographics, growing claims on finite resources and what he described as an “overdose of information” on social media were creating enormous pressures on society. The rule of law, he said, could not be allowed to diminish either in everyday life or in the manner in which the country was governed.
The warning coincides with a period of profound demographic change. India’s population is estimated at nearly 1.48 billion in 2026, while more than 382 million people are between the ages of 10 and 24. The scale of this young population has created opportunities for growth but has also intensified demands for education, jobs, housing and better public services.
A large international demographic survey released in July found that young people continued to express considerable optimism about their future, while employment security, financial stability, housing and confidence about long-term prospects increasingly influenced their personal choices. The findings reinforce Salve’s contention that aspirations cannot be considered separately from the economic and institutional framework required to satisfy them.
The former Solicitor General linked education and employment directly with the sustainability of democratic society. A young population, he said, needed access to both, while neither could be provided on the required scale without national prosperity. Prosperity combined with freedom, in his assessment, could survive only where the rule of law remained supreme.
The challenge has acquired an additional dimension as digital platforms reshape political debate and public perceptions. India had about 1.03 billion internet users at the end of 2025, representing roughly 70% of the population, while about 500 million social-media user identities were recorded. Such reach has transformed the speed at which political arguments, allegations and misinformation can spread.
Salve urged particular caution in the use of social media, while drawing a distinction between criticism of governments and disparagement of the country. Strong criticism of governments and institutions was necessary to keep those exercising power accountable, he said, but democratic dissent should not become an exercise in denigrating India.
His comments place him within an intensifying debate over the responsibilities accompanying digital expression. The rapid expansion of social-media participation has widened access to political debate and given individuals greater ability to scrutinise public institutions. It has simultaneously raised concerns about false information, polarisation, manipulated narratives and the erosion of distinctions between verified information and opinion.
Salve also presented India’s economic position as a source of growing international attention. The country has emerged as the world’s fourth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product and is projected to record real growth of about 6.4% in 2026, maintaining its position among the fastest-growing major economies.
He said his experience of spending substantial time outside the country had convinced him that India was viewed internationally with greater respect than before. He contrasted its rise with political and economic uncertainty across parts of Europe and the United States, arguing that established powers were still adjusting to the emergence of a country once placed within the developing-world category as an aspirant to global leadership.
Salve’s emphasis on institutional stability also reflects a broader legal concern about maintaining predictable governance while political, technological and economic conditions change quickly. Courts are increasingly confronting disputes involving digital speech, privacy, regulatory authority, economic policy and the balance between individual rights and state power.
