The Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam, which celebrates the shared culture of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, is an embodiment of the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat vision, PM said
India has the courage to undertake new initiatives even in the most challenging circumstances, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday at the closing ceremony of Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam.
Addressing the event virtually, the prime minister said though the country faces “forces that threaten to divide the country” and “obstacles” in achieving its goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047, India’s diversity should not divide, but rather strengthen the country’s bond and relationships.
“Today we have the target of India at 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. But India has the courage to do something new even in the most difficult of circumstances,” Modi said.
The Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam, which celebrates the shared culture and heritage of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, is an embodiment of the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (One India Great India) vision, he said.
Modi emphasised that India’s shared cultural heritage should be the driving force for nation-building, and that the country has celebrated diversity for centuries. “We are a people who celebrate diversity. We celebrate different languages and dialects, different arts and knowledge. There is diversity everywhere – from our faith to our spirituality,” he added.
The PM said that as the country completes 75 years of independence, a sense of pride towards its heritage has been invoked. He said the pride in “our heritage will grow as we get to know ourselves better by freeing ourselves of our slave mentality”.
‘Healthcare goal for whole world’
The Prime Minister on Wednesday also inaugurated ‘One Earth One Health Advantage Healthcare India 2023’ in Delhi, and said India’s goal is to make health care accessible and affordable, not only for its citizens but for the whole world.
“India started the journey of its G20 presidency with the theme of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’. We realise the importance of resilient global healthcare systems in fulfilling this vision,” he said. “India sees medical value travel and health workforce mobility as important for a healthy planet. One Earth One Health Advantage Healthcare India 2023 is an important effort in this direction.”
