Prime Minister Narendra Modi resumed his monthly radio programme “Mann ki Baat” on Sunday thanking the countrymen for their unwavering faith in the Constitution and the democratic system and participating in the Lok Sabha election 2024 in which over 65 crore of them voted. The radio programme of Modi had been paused since the last broadcast on February 25 due to the elections.
Addressing the nation in his first Mann Ki Baat programme after assuming office for a third term, PM Modi expressed that he missed the conversation with the public since the February broadcast. He thanked people and congratulated the Election Commission and every person associated with the process as he touched on a host of issues in his 30-minute radio address.
The Prime Minister also cheered Indian athletes who will be competing in the Paris Olympics starting next month, and urged people to use “cheer4Bharat” hashtag to motivate them. He said the performance of Indian players in the previous Olympics in Tokyo had won the hearts of every citizen, and the participating athletes have been since whole-heartedly engaged in the preparations for the Paris Olympics.
“If we take all the players together, then all of them have participated in nearly 900 international competitions. This is a very big number,” he said, adding that Indians will get to witness certain things for the first time.
“In shooting, the talent of our players is coming to the fore. Both men’s and women’s teams have qualified in table tennis. Our shooter daughters are also part of the Indian shotgun team. This time, members of our team will compete in wrestling and horse riding in those categories as well, in which they had never participated before,” he said. One can make out that this time they will see a different level of excitement in sports, he said, noting that Indian contingent had shown its best performance in the World Para Athletics Championship as well.
“Our players have also won glorious laurels in chess and badminton. Now the whole country is hoping that our players perform well in the Olympics as well, winning medals in these games and also the hearts of the countrymen. In the coming days, I will also get an opportunity to meet the Indian team. I will encourage them on your behalf,” he said.
Invoking the emotion of attachment to one’s mother, PM Modi initiated #Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam: plant a tree dedicated mother as a gesture of acknowledging the “unpayable debt to her”. He encouraged citizens to share their picture of planting a tree with their mother or her picture as a mark of respect to her and Mother Earth.
The Prime Minister paid rich tributes to tribal freedom fighters Veer Sidhu and Kanhu, who led the Santhal uprising against the British rule in 1855, much before the first war of independence in 1857. Tribal population observe June 30 as “Hool Diwas”. This day is associated with the indomitable courage of Veer Sidhu-Kanhu, who strongly opposed the atrocities of the foreign rulers, Modi said.
With the monsoon season picking pace, he spoke of the “Karthumbhi” umbrellas crafted in Attappady, Kerala, by tribal women. He said, “Karthumbi umbrellas have completed their journey from a small village in Kerala to multinational companies. What could be a better example than this of being vocal for local?”
In his broadcast, Modi congratulated the All India Radio on its Sanskrit bulletin completing 50 years and said the ancient language has played a big role in the progress of Indian knowledge and science. “The demand of today’s times is that we should respect Sanskrit and also connect it with our daily life,” he said, noting that locals at a Bengaluru park meet every Sunday to converse in the language.
Modi also played a clip of a Hindi programme broadcast on Kuwait Radio.”The Kuwait Government has started a special programme on its national radio. And that too in Hindi. It is broadcast every Sunday for half an hour on Kuwait Radio. It includes myriad shades of Indian culture. Our films and discussions related to the art world are very popular among the Indian community there,” he said.
He added that the local population in Kuwait was also taking a lot of interest and thanked its government and people for taking this “wonderful initiative”.”Which Indian will not be happy with the way our culture is earning glory all over the world today! For example, in Turkmenistan, the 300th birth anniversary of its national poet was celebrated in May this year. On this occasion, the president of Turkmenistan unveiled the statues of 24 famous poets of the world. One of these statues is also that of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore,” Modi said.
This is an honour for Gurudev and an honour for India, he added.Similarly, in June, two Caribbean countries -- Suriname and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -- celebrated their Indian heritage with full zeal and enthusiasm, Modi said.The Indian community in Suriname celebrates June 5 as Indian Arrival Day and Pravasi Din, and Bhojpuri is also widely spoken there along with Hindi, he added.
Noting that the entire world celebrated the 10th International Day of Yoga with great enthusiasm and zeal on June 21, the prime minister said locals, including women, joined him in participating in the yoga programme in Srinagar.”As the observance of yoga day is progressing, even new records are being made. Yoga day has attained many great achievements all over the world. For the first time in Saudi Arabia, a woman, Al Hanouf Saad ji, led the common yoga protocol. This is the first time a Saudi woman has instructed a main yoga session. This time in Egypt, a photo competition was organised on yoga day,” he said.
Pictures of lakhs of people performing yoga on the banks of the Nile river, on the beaches of the Red Sea and in front of pyramids became very popular, he said. Yoga sessions were held at Myanmar’s Maravijaya Pagoda complex, famous for its marble Buddha statue, for children with disabilities in Bahrain, at Galle Fort in Sri Lanka and at the Observation Deck in New York, among other places the world over, Modi said.
“A grand yoga day programme was also organised in Thimpu, Bhutan, in which my friend, Prime Minister Tobgay, also participated,” he said, adding that people should practise yoga regularly.He said, “There are so many products of India which are in great demand all over the world and when we see a local product of India going global, it is natural to feel proud. One such product is Araku coffee.”
Araku coffee is produced in large quantities in the Alluri Sita Rama Raju district of Andhra Pradesh and is known for its rich flavour and aroma, he said.”This coffee is amazing! Araku coffee has received many global awards. The coffee was also a hit at the G20 Summit held in Delhi. Whenever you get a chance, you must enjoy Araku coffee,” the Prime Minister added.
