NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that India has the power to innovate even in the toughest of circumstances as it faces forces that threaten to break it and put hurdles in the way of its target for 2047.
Virtually addressing the closing ceremony of "Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam", the Prime Minister said that India is a country that celebrates its diversities that do not divide us but strengthen our bonds and relationships.
"Today we have the target of India in 2047 (to make India a developed nation). We also have the challenges of the era of slavery and the period of seven decades after that. We have to take the country forward, but on the way, there will be forces that will threaten to break us and people to mislead us. India has the power to innovate even in the toughest of circumstances; the shared history of Saurashtra and Tamil Nadu assures us of this," Mr Modi said.
The Prime Minister remembered the attack on Somnath by the foreign invaders and the resultant exodus of people from Saurashtra to Tamil Nadu and said that those moving from one part of the country to another never worried about the new language, people or environment.
He pointed out that a large number of people migrated from Saurashtra to Tamil Nadu to protect their faith and identity. The people of Tamil Nadu welcomed them with open arms and extended all facilities to them for a new life. "What can be a bigger and stronger example of ‘Ek Bharat, Shresth Bharat’?," the Prime Minister asked.
Mr Modi noted that India has to move forward towards nation-building by bringing together this shared cultural heritage. "We are a people who celebrate diversity. We celebrate different languages and dialects, different arts and different knowledge. There is diversity everywhere -- from our faith to our spirituality. Such diversities do not divide us but strengthen our bonds and relationships. We know that when different streams come together, they merge and create a confluence. Therefore, from the confluence of rivers to that of ideas in events like Kumbh, we have been enriching these traditions for centuries," he said.
Mr Modi pointed out that it is this power of confluence that is being taken forward in a new form through the Saurashtra-Tamil Sangamam event.
The Prime Minister mentioned that as the country completes 75 years of Independence, it has invoked a sense of pride in its heritage. "The pride in our heritage will grow as we get to know ourselves better by freeing ourselves of our slave mentality. A celebration like Saurashtra-Tamil Sangamam is a fulfilment of the dreams of thousands and lakhs of freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives and dreamt of ‘Ek Bharat, Sreshth Bharat,'" he said.
Mr Modi said that there is a lot in common between Gujarat and Tamil Nadu that was deliberately kept out of our knowledge. "The knowledge of the escape of people from Saurashtra to Tamil Nadu during the era of foreign invasion remained limited to some historians. But even before that, there has been a deep relation between these two states since time immemorial," the Prime Minister said.
He remarked that the event is the confluence of the commitment of patriotism of Sardar Patel and Subramania Bharati, the iconic Tamil poet. "We have to move forward by taking these commitments and cultural heritage for nation-building," he said.
Quoting the great saint Thiruvallavar, the Prime Minister said that happiness, prosperity and fortune come to those who happily welcome others into their homes and emphasised the need for harmony and shunning cultural clashes.
"We don't have to take forward the struggles; we have to take forward the sangams and samagams. We don't want to find differences; we want to make emotional connections," he said.
Mr Modi said that the immortal tradition of India, which takes everyone along with inclusiveness and moves forward, has been showcased by those who adopted the Tamil culture but at the same time remembered the language, food and customs of Saurashtra.
The Prime Minister expressed delight that the contributions of our forefathers are being carried forward with a sense of duty.
He urged everyone to invite people from different parts of the country in the same way at the local level and give them an opportunity to live and breathe India and expressed confidence that the Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam will prove to be a historic initiative in that direction.
