PM Modi hails India’s rural talents
Young people who leave their homes for the sake of studies should discover their new places, know more about the people, language, culture and tourism... NARENDRA MODI, Prime Minister
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday spoke about hope, aspiration and nationalism while naming several student achievers from economically poor background in his monthly radio talk show, Mann Ki Baat.
“Asharam Choudhury, a student from an extremely poor family in Madhya Pradesh, overcame life’s many challenges to achieve success. In his maiden attempt, he cracked the entrance exam for MBBS at AIIMS, Jodhpur,” Modi said, noting Choudhury’s father made a living by picking waste.
Modi mentioned similar cases where children of drivers or rickshaw pullers have cracked tough exams. “There are many such instances of students from deprived families who through sheer determination and perseverance overcame all odds and stood out to be beacons of inspiration to others,” Modi said.
Modi had spoken of his own humble origins and hard work last week while addressing the Lok Sabha during the no-confidence motion. He lashed out at the Congress for “bowing to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty”. A biopic inspired by events of his childhood ‘Chalo Jeete Hain’ also premiered on TV on Sunday.
Modi congratulated athlete Hima Das, who won India’s first athletics gold at a global track event. He commended Ekta Bhyan, Yogesh Qathuniaji and Sundar Singh Gurjar, who bagged medals at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Tunisia. Modi recalled Bhyan’s email that said the greatest moment for an athlete is holding the tricolour. Bhyan, who had been paralysed waist down after a road accident in 2003, won gold and a bronze.
“Keep learning something new, such as newer skills and languages. Young people who leave their homes for the sake of studies should discover their new places, know more about the people, language, culture and tourism...,” Modi said, addressing those who start college in July, many of them in new cities.
Modi referred to freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s slogan “swaraj (self-rule) is my birth right and I shall have it”.
“Today is the time to say good governance is our birth right and we will have it. Every Indian should have access to good governance and positive results of development. It is the factoring in of this outreach that will create a new India,” Modi said.
He referred to the lives and contribution of Tilak, Vallabhbhai Patel and Chandra Shekar ‘Azad’ in the freedom struggle and their nationalistic spirit.
He said despite the British government’s opposition, Patel ensured that a statue of Tilak was installed at Victoria Garden in Ahmedabad in 1929. The PM recalled Tilak’s contribution in starting the tradition of celebrating Ganesh utsav publicly.