Vikas as important as Viraasat for country like India: PM Modi

Mumbai (Maharashtra): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that Vikas (development) is as important as Viraasat (heritage) for India while also noting that the government was creating modern physical and social infrastructure for a new India.

"For a country like India, Vikas is as important as Viraasat. Today, the country is witnessing the emergence of modern physical and social infrastructure. Today, the country is moving forward on the path of development. Our country, today, represents a sangam (convergence) of tradition and modernity," PM Modi said while inaugurating the Mumbai campus of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah Arabic Academy on Friday.

Invoking the 'Panch Pran' (five commitments) to the country that he underlined during his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort last year, PM Modi said the resolutions for the 'amrit Kaal' were being taken forward through structural reforms across sectors.

"Today the country is driving forward in line with the resolutions for 'Amrit Kaal' and through reforms such as the National Education Policy (NEP). Today, the country's priority is to intriduce a modern education system which is also rooted in the Indian tradition. In the last few years, we have extensively worked on a patent ecosystem and have eased the patent filing process," he said.

PM Modi also brought up universities such as Nalanda and Takshashila, saying that India used to be home to such leading centres of learning and his government was striving to restore the glory days of India's education system.

"In the field of education, India once used to be a world leader with prestigious centres of learning such as Nalanda and Takshashila. People from across the world used to come to study in our country. If we have to restore India to its glorious past, we have to take our edcation system back to its glory days. We are working tirelessly on this front. In the last 8 years, we have opened a record number of universities. We are also in the process of opening medical colleges in every district," he said.

"The Britishers had made English the primary yardstick of education and we have been carrying an inferiority complex (owing to lack of profieciency in English) across generations. This mostly affected children from poor, deprived and Dalit households. They were discarded from competition despite being talented. But now, medical and engineering studies can also be done in regional languages," the Prime Minister added.

Lauding the Dawoodi Bohra community, he said that their love for the country is visible.

"Wherever I go, not just in my country but abroad, my Bohra brothers and sisters come to meet me. No matter where members of the Dawoodi Vohra community reside in the world, love for India is alive in their hearts. Your love draws me to you," he said.