Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s radio address, within a short period, has managed to reignite popular interest in India’s past
World over heritage is treated as national health on which the national character is shaped. Countries take pride in their ancient past, which acts as a pivot for them to establish unique identities in the comity of the global community. Greece, Egypt, Italy, China, Japan and others have reaped unprecedented gains from their ancient pasts. Such nations find their national characters firmly grounded. Also, they receive millions of tourists rushing to sites linked with the national heritage, and contributing billions of dollars of income for the national exchequers.
Somehow, the Indian leadership in the past was apologetic about our past, particularly of the ancient era and the pre-Muslim history. This made thieves the world over steal Indian artefacts. This was possible because the Indians were not interested enough in them.
Egypt could market its ancient civilization to milk billions of dollars annually. India despite being home to several of the Indus Valley Civilization sites and excavations paid the least interest in their significance. This disconnect eroded India’s wealth and also deprived the people of a unifying national anchor.
Mann Ki Baatin a short period reignited the popular interest in India’s past. The stolen artefacts were recovered. The foreign capitals took the initiative to return the Indian artefacts which were lying in their museums. This could be made possible after Prime Minister Narendra Modi guided the national imagination to shed a spotlight on India’s civilizational wealth.
In the 99th edition of Mann Ki Baat, the PM highlighted a new tradition that has emerged in Kashi (Varanasi), celebrating the historical and cultural ties to celebrate Vijayadashami, RakshaBandhan and Chhath Pooja, and also the connection with the Tamil region. ‘Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat (One India, Great India)’ was, thus, coined by PM Modi to guide the people to acquaint themselves with the roots of India.
‘Saurashtra-Tamil Sangamam was also conceptualized to achieve the same purpose, which was talked about at length in the Mann Ki Baat. Modi noted that many people from Saurashtra settled in Tamil Nadu centuries ago and are still known as ‘Saurashtri Tamil’. This revealed the significance of the oneness of the people, and the ancient past erasing the aberrations of the last few decades when the regional divide gained prominence.
Since 2014, India has retrieved 228 heritage objects from various parts of the world which were stolen or smuggled from India. Before 2014, only 13 objects were returned. During the 86th edition of ‘Mann kiBaat’, PM Modi reiterated, “How countries like the United States, Holland, Italy, and Canada understood India’s concerns about its stolen heritage and helped in bringing back about 200 idols to the country.”
The Mann Ki Baat episodes have also played a key role in helping people from within the country and abroad to give a boost to the tourism sector. In the last nine years, the government ensured that the budgetary support to the tourism sector improved from Rs878 crore in 2015-15 to Rs2400 crore in 2023-24. From the Mann Ki Baat, the people got updates and accounts of the efforts to develop tourism circuits from Somnath to Kedarnath, from Ayodhya to Ajmer, and from Varanasi to Velankanni, under the PRASHAD scheme, which also includes the upgradation of CheramanJuma Mosque, Hazratbal, Ajmer, St Thomas Shrine and Velankanni.
St Luke’s Church in Kashmir was renovated and reopened after three decades. The foreign exchange earnings from 2016 to 2019 grew at a CAGR of 7.0 per cent but dipped in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In FY20, the tourism sector in India accounted for 39 million jobs, which was 8.0 per cent of the total employment in the country. By 2029, it is expected to account for about 53 million jobs.
Besides, Mann Ki Baat proved instrumental in connecting the people with India’s forgotten heroes. This was a timely course correction. Some of the personalities in the post-Independence era hogged most of the limelight and also the attention of the government.
But PM Modi nudged the people to read and search for the local icons, as he exhorted the audience to write about such heroes to give them deserving places in history. This was met with a massive response as lakhs of people wrote letters and shared anecdotes about the local heroes. The efforts proved instrumental in giving depth to Indian history, and also cultural depth to several regions within the country.
Thus, Mann Ki Baat by all accounts has been a major accelerator in India’s rediscovery of past glory, which in the years to come will certainly give a boost to wealth creation and also help shape the national character.
(Author is a policy analyst)
