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My dear countrymen, Namaskar.
Once again, a very warm welcome to all of you in ‘Mann Ki Baat’. This time this episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ is the beginning of its 2nd century. Last month all of us have celebrated the special century. Your participation is the greatest strength of this program. During the broadcast of the 100th episode, in a way the whole country was bound by a single thread. Be it sanitation personnel brothers and sisters or veterans from myriad sectors, ‘Mann Ki Baat’ has striven to bring everyone together. The intimacy and affection that all of you have shown for ‘Mann Ki Baat’ is unprecedented, it makes one emotional. When ‘Mann Ki Baat’ was broadcast, in different countries of the world, in various time zones, somewhere it was evening and somewhere it was late night… despite that, a large number of people took time out to listen to the 100th episode. I also saw that video from New Zealand, thousands of miles away, in which a 100 year old is expressing her motherly blessings. People from India and abroad have expressed their views on ‘Mann Ki Baat’. Many people have also offered Constructive Analysis. People have appreciated the fact that in ‘Mann Ki Baat’ only the achievements of the country and the countrymen are discussed. I once again thank you all with all due respects for this blessing.
My dear countrymen, we talked about the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam, Saurashtra-Tamil Sangamam in ‘Mann Ki Baat’. Kashi-Telugu Sangamam was also held a while ago in Varanasi. Another such unique effort to give strength to the spirit of Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat has taken place in the country. This is the effort of the Yuva Sangam. I thought, why not ask about this in detail from the very people who have been a part of this unique effort. That’s why two young people are connected with me on the phone right now – one is GyamarNyokum ji from Arunachal Pradesh and the other is daughter Vishakha Singh ji from Bihar. Let us first talk to GyamarNyokum.
Prime Minister: Gyamar ji, Namaste!
Gyamar ji: Namaste Modi ji!
Prime Minister: Fine Gyamar ji, first of all I would like toknow about you.
Gyamar ji – Modi ji, first of all,
I express my gratitude to you and the Government of India, that you gave me an opportunity and aretalking to meby taking out valuable time. I am studying in the first year of Mechanical Engineering at the National Institute of Technology, Arunachal Pradesh
Prime Minister: And what do your father and othersdo in the family?
Gyamar ji: Yes my father runs a small business and after thateveryone does some farming.
Prime Minister: How did you come to know about the Yuva Sangam?
Where did you go for the Yuva Sangam, how did you go, what happened?
Gyamar ji: Modi ji, Our institution NIT told us about the Yuva Sangam and that we couldparticipate in it. I again searched a little on the internet, and I came to know that this is a very good program, which could enable one to contribute a lot in the vision of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat and I will get a chance to learn something new. I then right away, enrolled in it by going to the website. My experience was very enjoyable, very good.
Prime Minister: Did you have to make any selection?
Gyamar ji: Modi ji, When I opened the website, the people of Arunachal had two options… First was Andhra Pradesh which had IIT Tirupati and the second was Central University, Rajasthan so I put in my First preference as Rajasthan, Second Preference I did IIT Tirupati. I got selected for Rajasthan. Hence I went to Rajasthan.
Prime Minister: How was your Rajasthan visit? Did you go toRajasthan for the first time?
Gyamar ji: Yes, I had gone out of Arunachal for the first time.
I had seen all these forts of Rajasthan only in films and on the phone, so, when I went for the first time, my experience was very good, the people there were very good and the treatment given to us was very good. I got to learn many new things about the big lakes of Rajasthan and the people there, and rain water harvesting as well, which I did not know at all, so this Rajasthan visit was very good for me.
Prime Minister: See, the biggest advantage you have got is thatArunachal is also a land of brave hearts, Rajasthan is also a land of brave hearts and there are a large number of people from Rajasthan in the army, and whenever you meet people from Rajasthan among the soldiers on the border in Arunachal, you can definitely speak with them, that you had gone to Rajasthan,… had such an experience…after that your closeness with them will increase instantly. Well, you must have noticed some similarities there too, you would have thought that yes, it is the same in Arunachal too.
Gyamar ji: Modi ji, the one similarity I found was the love for the country and the vision and feeling of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, because in Arunachal too people feel very proud that they are Indians and similarly in Rajasthan also people are proud of their mother land. I noticed this a lot, and especially in the young generation, because I interacted with many youths there, so I saw a lot of similarity with what they want. And that is … whatever you want to do for India and love for your country….I saw a lot of similarity in both the states.
Prime Minister: So,did you increase your level of interaction with the friends that you made there …or forgot them after returning?
Gyamar ji: No, we extended our introduction.
Prime Minister: Yes…! So are you active on Social Media?
Gyamar ji: Yes Modi ji, I am active.
Prime Minister: Then you should write a blogon your experiences in the Yuva Sangam, how you enrolled in it, how your experience in Rajasthan has been, so that the youth of the country know the signigficance and greatness of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, what this schemeis all about… how youths can take advantage of it, you should write a blog full of your experiences… then it will be useful for many people to read.
Gyamar ji: Yes, I certainly will do.
Prime Minister: Gyamar ji, it was a pleasure talking to you.
And all of you youth should strive for the country’s bright future, because these 25 years are very important – for your life as well as for the life of the country, I extend my best wishes to you. Thank you.
Gyamar ji: Thank you Modi ji to you too.
Prime Minister: Namaskar brother!
Friends, the people of Arunachal are so full of warmth that I enjoy talking to them. Gyamarji’s experience at the Yuva Sangam was excellent. Come, let’s now speak to daughter from Bihar,Vishakha Singh ji.
Prime Minister: Vishakha ji, Namaskar.
Vishakha ji: First of all, my Pranam to Honorable Prime Minister of India and along with it, many salutations to you on behalf of all the delegates.
Prime Minister: WellVishakha ji, first tell us about yourself. Then I also want to know about the Yuva Sangam.
Vishakha ji: I am a resident of Sasaram city of Bihar and I came to know about Yuva Sangam first through a message of my college WhatsApp group. So, after that I found out more details about it…exactly what it is! So I came to know that this is a coming together of the youth through Prime Minister’s scheme ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’. So after that I applied and when I applied, I was excited to join it, but after traveling from there to Tamil Nadu, and back ….with the exposure that I gained, I now feel very proud that I have been a part of this program, so I am very happy to have participated in that program and I express my gratitude to you from the core of my heart that you have made such a wonderful program for youths like us so that we can adapt to the culture of different regions of India.
Prime Minister: Vishakha ji, what do you study?
Vishakha ji: I am a second year student of Computer Science Engineering.
Prime Minister: Ok Vishakha ji, how did you decide on the choice of the State you would go to and get connected with?
Vishakha ji: When I started searching about this Yuva Sangam on Google, I came to know that delegates from Bihar were being exchanged with delegates from Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is a very rich cultural state of our country, so even at that time when I came to know and saw that people from Bihar were being sent to Tamil Nadu, it also helped me a lot in taking the decision that I should fill the form and whether to go there or not. I really feel very proud today that I took part in it and I am very happy.
Prime Minister: Was it your first visit to Tamil Nadu?
Vishakha ji: Ji…I’d gone for the first time.
Prime Minister: Well, if you want to say something specially memorable, what would you say? The youth of the country are listening to you.
Vishakha ji: Yes, if we consider the whole journey, it has been wonderful for me. We have learnt very good things at each stage. I have made good friends in Tamil Nadu… have adapted to the culture there. I met people there. But the best thing that struck me there, was that firstly no one gets a chance to go to ISRO and we being delegates, got this opportunity to go to ISRO. Plus the second best thing was when we went to Raj Bhavan and met the Governor of Tamil Nadu. So those two moments were very good for me and I feel that in the age in which we are as a youth, we do not get the opportunity that we got through the Yuva Sangam. So it was perfect and most memorable moment for me.
Prime Minister: In Bihar food habits are different from the way they are in Tamilnadu!
Visakha ji: Yes.
Prime Minister: So it got set completely?
Vishakha ji: South Indian cuisine is prevalent in Tamilnadu. So as soon as we went there we were served Dosa, Idli, Sambhar, Uttapam, Vada, Upma. So first when we tried it was too good. The food there is very healthy, in fact it is very delicious and it is very different from the food of our north, so I liked the food there and the people there were also very nice.
Prime Minister: So now you must have made friends in Tamil Nadu too?
Vishakha ji: Yes! Yes there we stayed at NIT Trichy, after that at IIT Madras. I have become friends with the students at both those places.Plus there was a CII Welcome Ceremony meanwhile, so many students from nearby colleges also came there. So there we interacted with those students as well and I felt very happy to meet them, many of them are my friends too. And I also met some delegates who were coming to Bihar from Tamil Nadu, so we had a conversation with them as well and we still talk to each other, so I feel very happy.
Prime Minister: So Vishakha ji, do write a blog and share this experience on social media, firstly, of this Yuva Sangam, then of ‘Ek Bharat-Shreshth Bharat’ and then the warmth you felt in Tamil Nadu, and the welcome and hospitality that you received. You were showered with the the love of Tamil people, tell all these things to the country. so will you write?
Vishakha ji: Yes, of course!
Prime Minister: So I wish you all the best and thank you very much.
Visakha ji: Ji thank you so much. Namaskar
My best wishes to you Gyamar and Vishakha. May what you have learntat the Yuva Sangam stay with you for the rest of your life. This is my best wish for all of you.
Friends, India’s strength lies in its diversity. There is a lot to see in our country. Keeping this in view, the Ministry of Education has taken an excellent initiative named ‘Yuvasangam’. The objective of this initiative is to increase People to People Connect as well as to give an opportunity to the youth of the country to mingle with each other. Higher educational institutions of various states have been linked to it.
In ‘Yuvasangam’ youth visit cities and villages of other states, they get an opportunity to meet different types of people. In the first round of Yuvasangam, about 1200 youths have toured 22 states of the country. All the youth who have been a part of it, are returning with such memories, which will remain etched in their hearts for the rest of their lives. We have seen that CEOs, Business leaders of many big companies have spent time in India as Back-Packers. When I meet leaders of other countries, many a time they also tell me that they had gone to visit India in their youth. There is so much to know and see in our India that your curiosity will only increase every time. I hope that after coming to know of these exciting experiences, you too will definitely be inspired to travel to different parts of the country.
My dear countrymen, just a few days ago I was in Hiroshima, Japan.
There I got an opportunity to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial museum. It was an emotional experience. When we cherish the memories of history, it helps the coming generations a lot. Sometimes we get new lessons in museums… sometimes we get to learn a lot. A few days ago the International Museum Expo was also organized in India. It depicted the specialities of more than 1200 museums of the world. We have many different types of museums in India, which display many aspects related to our past, like, Gurugram has a unique museum – Museo Camera. It houses a collection of more than 8 thousand cameras belonging to the era after 1860. Tamil Nadu’s Museum of Possibilities has been designed keeping in mind our Divyang people. Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj VastuSangrahalaya is such a museum, in which more than 70 thousand items have been preserved. Established in the year 2010, Indian Memory Project is a kind of online museum. It is engaged in connecting the links of India’s glorious history through pictures and stories sent from all over the world. An attempt has been made to bring to the fore the memories related to the horrors of Partition. In the past years too, we have seen new types of museums and memorials coming up in India. Ten new museums dedicated to the contribution of tribal brothers and sisters in the freedom struggle are being set up. Whether it is Biplobi Bharat Gallery in Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial or the revival of the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial. The P.M.Museum dedicated to all the former Prime Ministers of the country is also adding to the beauty of Delhi today. Everyday many people come to pay respects to martyrs at the National War Memorial and Police Memorial in Delhi itself. Whether it is the Dandi Memorial dedicated to the historic Dandi March or the Statue of Unity Museum,… well, I will have to stop here because the list of museums across the country is very long and for the first time the necessary information about all the museums in the country has also been compiled. On what theme the museum is based, what kind of objects are kept there, what their contact details are – all this is collated in an online directory. I urge you that whenever you get a chance, you must visit these museums in our country. Don’t forget to share the attractive pictures taken there on #(Hashtag) Museum Memories. This will further strengthen the connection of us Indians with our glorious culture.
My dear countrymen, we all must have heard a saying many times, must have heard it over and over again – without water everything is avoid. Without water life is always in a crisis… the development of the individual and the country also comes to a standstill. Looking at this future challenge, today 75 Amrit Sarovars are being constructed in every district of the country. Our Amrit Sarovarsare special because, they are being built in the Azadi Ka Amrit Kal and the essence of the effort of the people has been put in them. You will be pleased to know that till now more than 50 thousand Amrit Sarovars have been constructed. This is a giant step towards water conservation.
Friends, we keep talking about the challenges related to water every summer. This time also we will take up this topic, but this time we will discuss the start-ups related to water conservation. There is a Start-Up – Fluxgen. This Start-Up provides water management options through I.O.T enabled technologies. This technology will tell us about the patterns of water usage and will help in effective use of water. Another startup is LivNSense. This is a platform based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. With its help, effective monitoring of water distribution can be done. From this it will also be ascertained where and how much water is being wasted. Another Start-Up is ‘KumbhiKagaz’. This KumbhiKagaz is a topic, I am sure you will like very much. KumbhiKagaz Start-Up has embarked upon a special task. They are working on making paper from water hyacinth, that is, water hyacinth, which was once considered a problem for water sources, is now being used to make paper.
Friends, if many youths are working through innovation and technology, there are many youths who are also engaged in the mission of making the society aware, like the youth of Balod district in Chhattisgarh. The youth here have started a campaign to save water. They go door-to-door to make people aware of water conservation. If there is an event like marriage somewhere, this group of youth goes there and gives information about how misuse of water can be stopped. An inspiring effort related to the efficient use of water is also being undertaken in Khunti district of Jharkhand. People in Khunti have found a way out of the water crisis through check dams. Due to accumulation of water from the check dams, greens and vegetables have also started growing here. On account of this the income of the people is also increasing, and the needs of the region are also being fulfilled. Khunti has become a fascinating example of how any public participation effort brings with it many changes. I congratulate the people there for this endeavour.
My dear countrymen, during the 1965 war, our former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had given the slogan of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan. Later, Atal ji had also added Jai Vigyan to it. A few years ago, while talking to the scientists of the country, I talked about Jai Anusandhan. In ‘Mann Ki Baat’, today’s reference is about such a person, about such an organization, which is a reflection of all these four, Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan and Jai Anusandhan. This is a gentleman, Shriman Shivaji Shamrao Dole from Maharashtra. Shivaji Dole hails from a small village in Nashik district. He comes from a poor tribal farmer family, and is also an ex-serviceman. While in the army, he dedicated his life to the country. After retirement, he decided to learn something new and did a Diploma in Agriculture, that is, he moved towards Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan. Now every moment, he strives to ensure how to contribute maximum in the agriculture sector. In this campaign, Shivaji Dole ji formed a small team of 20 people and added some ex-servicemen to it. After this his team took over the management of a co-operative organization named Venkateshwara Co-Operative Power &Agro Processing Limited. This co-operative organization was lying dormant, which he took up the challenge of reviving. Today Venkateshwara Co-Operative has expanded to many districts in no time. Today this team is working in Maharashtra and Karnataka. About 18,000 people are associated with it, in which a large number of our Ex-Servicemen are also there. The members of this team are doing Agro Farming in more than 500 acres of land in Malegaon, Nashik. This team is also engaged in building many ponds for water conservation. The special thing is that they have also started Organic Farming and Dairy. Now grapes grown there are being exported to Europe as well. The two great features of this team, which attracted my attention, are these – Jai Vigyan and Jai Anusandhan. Its members are making maximum use of technology and Modern Agro Practices. The second feature is that they are also focusing on various certifications required for exports. I appreciate this team working with the spirit of ‘prosperity through cooperation’. This effort has not only empowered a large number of people, but has also created many means of livelihood. I hope this effort inspires every listener of ‘Mann Ki Baat’.
My dear countrymen, today the 28th of May, is the birth anniversary of the great freedom fighter, Veer Savarkar. The stories related to his sacrifice, courage and resolve inspire us all even today. I cannot forget the day when I went to the cell in Andaman where Veer Savarkar underwent the sentence of Kalapani. Veer Savarkar’s personality comprised firmness and magnanimity. His fearless and self-respecting nature did not appreciate the mentality of slavery at all. Not only the freedom movement, whatever Veer Savarkar did for social equality and social justice is remembered even today.
Friends, a few days later, on the 4th of June, is also the birth anniversary of Sant Kabirdas ji. The path shown by Kabirdas ji is equally relevant even today. Kabirdas ji used to say,
‘Kabira Kuan Ek hai, Pani Bhare AnekBartan mein hi bhed hai, Paani sab mein ek’
Which means: There could be myriad kinds of people who come to the well to draw water…But the well does not differentiate anyone…water remains the same in all utensils.
Sant Kabir opposed every evil practice that divided the society; tried to awaken the society. Today, when the country is moving forward with the determination to develop, we should increase our efforts to empower the society, taking inspiration from Sant Kabir.
My dear countrymen, I am now going to discuss with you about a great personality of the country who left an indelible mark through the the strength of his amazing talent in politics and the film industry. The name of this great personality is N.T. Rama Rao, whom we all know as NTR. Today, is the 100th birth anniversary of NTR. On the strength of his versatility of talent, he not only became the superstar of Telugu cinema, but also won the hearts of crores of people. Do you know that he had acted in more than 300 films? He revived many historical characters on the basis of his acting. People liked NTR’s acting in the roles of Bhagwan Krishna, Ram and many others, so much that they still remember him. NTR had carved out his own identity in the cinema world as well as in politics. There too, he got lots of love and blessings from the people. I offer my humble tribute to N.T Rama Rao ji, who ruled the hearts of millions of people in the country and the world.
My dear countrymen, that’s allthis time in ‘Mann Ki Baat’. Next time I will come to you with some new topics… till then the ‘heat’ would have increased more in some regions. It would have also start raining at some places. You have to take care of your health in every weather condition. We will also celebrate ‘World Yoga Day’ on 21st June. Preparations are going on for that too in the country and abroad. Do keep writing your ‘Mann Ki Baat’ to me about these preparations as well. If you get any more information on any other subject, then tell me that as well. My effort will be to include maximum suggestions in ‘Mann Ki Baat’. Once again, many thanks to all of you. We’ll meet next month, till then I take leave of you.