PrintFriendly
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the nation in his 80th Episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on 29 August,2021. In this radio broadcast, Shri Narendra Modi paying tribute to hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand on his birth anniversary said that it was Dhyanchand ji’s hockey that brought glory to Indian hockey in the whole world. He added, and four decades later, almost after 41 years, the youth of India, her sons and daughters, once again infused vitality in our hockey. We are publishing brief highlights of the address for our esteemed readerds:
–All of us know that today is the birth anniversary of Major Dhyanchand ji. And our country celebrates it as National Sports Day, in commemoration. A thought struck me, that perhaps, wherever Major Dhyanchand ji’s soul must be at the moment, it must be feeling overjoyed…since it was Dhyanchand ji’s hockey that brought glory to Indian hockey in the whole world. And four decades later, almost after 41 years, the youth of India, her sons and daughters, once again infused vitality in our hockey. And irrespective of the number of medals won, no citizen of India enjoys victory until a medal is won in hockey. And this time, in the Olympics, the medal that was won for hockey came our way after four decades. You can imagine…wherever Major Dhyanchand ji might be…his heart, his soul must be overflowing with joy. And the entire life of Dhyanchand ji was dedicated to Sports…and that is why today, when the youth of the country, our sons and daughters are visibly drawn towards sports, with even parents experiencing happiness on children coming forward in sports; this eagerness that one can see all over…I feel that itself is a great tribute to Major Dhyanchand ji.
• Friends, this time, the Olympics have created a major impact. The events at the Olympics are over; the Paralympics are going on. Whatever our country earned in this world of Sports may be little in comparison with the world, but enough has happened to bolster our belief. Today, it is not that the youth is just watching sports…the youth is also looking at possibilities associated with Sports…observing the entire eco system minutely…comprehending its potential, wishing to connect with it in some way or the other. It is only through collective endeavour of all that India will attain glorious heights in Sports that she rightfully deserves. .
• My dear countrymen, during this Corona period, the myriad aspects of cleanliness that I should have touched upon; I feel, perhaps, that it saw a decrease. I also feel that we should not let the cleanliness campaign diminish even at the slightest. The examples of how efforts by everyone for nation building in turn lead to progress for all of us, also inspire us and infuse us with a new energy to do something, impart new confidence, give a meaning to our resolve. We know very well that whenever the topic Swachh Bharat Abhiyan comes up, the name of Indore also arises because Indore has created a special identity of its own in relation to cleanliness and the people of Indore are also entitled to felicitations. And now they have decided to maintain a ‘Water Plus City’ and are striving for it with all their might.
• ‘Water Plus City’ means a city where no sewage is dumped into any public water source without treatment. The citizens here themselves have come forward and connected their drains with the sewer line. A Cleanliness campaign has also been started and due to this the polluted water draining in the Saraswati and Kanh rivers has also reduced considerably and an improvement is visible. Today, when our country is celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence, we have to remember that we should never let the resolve of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan diminish. The greater the number of cities which are ‘Water Plus City’ in our country, cleanliness will increase further, our rivers will also become clean and we will be fulfilling values associated with humane responsibility of conserving water.
• Friends, before me is an example that has come from Madhubani in Bihar. Dr. Rajendra Prasad Agricultural University in Madhubani and the local Krishi Vigyan Kendra have jointly made a worthy effort. Not only farmers are accruing benefit from this scheme but it has also imparted renewed vigour to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The name of this initiative of the university is – “Sukhet Model” The purpose of the Sukhet model is to reduce pollution in the villages. Under this model, dung and other household waste is collected from the farmers of the village and in return the villagers are given money for cooking gas cylinders. The work of making vermicompost from the disposed garbage collected from the village is also ongoing.
• My dear countrymen,’Mann Ki Baat’ is no longer confined to the borders of India. There is a discussion on ‘Mann Ki Baat’ in different corners of the world too. And there are people from our Indian community living abroad, who keep providing me with much new information. And I also like to sometimes share with you the unique programs that are going on abroad in ‘Mann Ki Baat’.
• My dear countrymen, in the next few days ‘Vishwakarma Jayanti’ will also be celebrated. Here, Bhagwan Vishwakarma is considered as a symbol of the creative power behind the genesis of the world. Whoever through their skill, builds an object..innovates… whether it is sewing-embroidery, software or satellite, all this is a manifestation of Bhagwan Vishwakarma. Even though skill is being recognized in a new way in the world today, our sages and seers have emphasized on skill and scale for thousands of years. They have interlinked skill, talent, ability with faith, thereby making it a part of the philosophy of our lives. Our Vedas have also dedicated many sookta to Bhagwan Vishwakarma. Whichever great creations are there, whatever new and big works have been done, our scriptures ascribe them to Bhagwan Vishwakarma. It is in a way a symbol of the thought that whatever development and innovation is happening in the world.
• This is the time of the 75th year of our Independence. This year we have to make new resolutions every day, think new, and bolster our spirit to do something new. When India completes one hundred years of Independence, then only these resolutions of ours will be seen in the foundation of its successes. So, we should not let this opportunity pass. We have to contribute our maximum in this. And in the midst of all these efforts, we have one more thing to remember. दवाई भी, कड़ाई भी…vaccinate and take precautions. More than 62 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the country, but still we have to be careful, be vigilant. And yes, as always, whenever you do something new, think new, then definitely include me in that. I will be waiting for your letter and messages. With this wish, once again many felicitations to all of you for the upcoming festivals.