Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Credit: PTI Photo
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India should shine in the world of sports for which he has been providing encouragement, but it should particularly do well in hockey, football, kabaddi and kho-kho as these are games rooted in its land.
In his monthly radio broadcast 'Mann Ki Baat', Modi said sports is one area where the country's youth is continuously achieving new successes.
India displayed its best-ever performance in the World University Games held in China, he said, noting that this time "our players won 26 medals in all, out of which 11 were gold medals."
Since 1959, the total number of medals was only 18, he said.
During the broadcast, Modi also interacted with some young sportspersons who won medals at the World University Games.
He spoke to Pragati, a resident of Uttar Pradesh who won a medal in Archery; Amlan, a resident of Assam who won a medal in Athletics; Priyanka, a resident of Uttar Pradesh who won a medal in Race Walk; and Abhidanya, a resident of Maharashtra who won a medal in Shooting.
Modi asked them about their struggles to triumph and congratulated them for bringing laurels to the country.
Asked which sport he likes the most, Modi said India should shine in the world of sports and that is why he is promoting activities in this field.
"But hockey, football, kabaddi, kho-kho, these are games rooted in our land, in these, we should never lag behind. And I'm observing that our people are doing well in archery, they are doing well in shooting," he said.
"I am seeing that our youth and even our families also do not have such feelings towards sports which were there earlier."
"Earlier, when children used to go to play, they used to be stopped. And now, times have changed and the success that you people have been achieving, motivates all the families," he told the sportspersons.
In every game, wherever "our children are going, they return after accomplishing something or the other for the country," Modi noted.
Such news is shown prominently in the country today and is also conveyed as well as discussed in schools and colleges, he said.
Modi said this time on August 15, the country saw the power of 'Sabka Prayas'. The efforts of all the people of the country turned the 'Har Ghar Tiranga Abhiyan' into a 'Har Man Tiranga Abhiyan'.
"Many records were also made during this campaign. The people of the country purchased tricolours in crores. Around 1.5 crore tricolours were sold through 1.5 lakh post offices. Through that, our workers, weavers, and especially women have also earned hundreds of crores of rupees," he said.
This time the people of the country have created a new record in posting selfies with the tricolour, he said.
Last year till August 15, about five crore people had posted selfies with the tricolour while this year this number has crossed 10 crore, he said. At present, the campaign to evoke the spirit of patriotism 'Meri Mati, Mera Desh' is in full swing in the country, Modi noted.
In September, there will be a campaign to collect soil from every house in every village of the country, he said.
"The holy soil of the country will be deposited in thousands of Amrit Kalash urns. At the end of October, thousands will reach the country's capital Delhi with the Amrit Kalash Yatra. Amrit Vatika will be built in Delhi from this soil only," he said.
"I am sure the efforts of every person in the country will make this campaign successful," he added.
Modi also extended felicitations to for the upcoming World Sanskrit Day.
"We all know that Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages in the world. It is also called the mother of many modern languages. Sanskrit is known for its antiquity as well as its scientificity and grammar. Much ancient knowledge of India has been preserved in the Sanskrit language for thousands of years," he said.
"I am happy that today awareness and pride in Sanskrit have increased among people," Modi said.
In order to connect with one's roots, to connect with one's culture and tradition, there's a very powerful medium – mother tongue, he pointed out.
"When we connect with our mother tongue, we naturally connect with our culture, we get connected with our values, we get connected with our tradition, we get connected with our ancient splendour."
"Similarly, India has another mother tongue, the glorious Telugu language. August 29 will be celebrated as Telugu Day, "he said.
Many priceless gems of Indian culture are hidden in the literature and heritage of the Telugu language, he noted.
Modi highlighted that many efforts are also being made to ensure that the whole country gets the benefit of this heritage of Telugu.
Modi also talked about how many times it happens that people do not know much about the historical places of their own city.
"Something similar happened with Dhanpal ji. Dhanapal ji used to work as a driver in the Transport Office of Bangalore. About 17 years ago, he was given responsibility in the sightseeing wing. Now people know it by the name of Bengaluru Darshini," he said.
"Dhanpal ji used to take tourists to various tourist places in the city. On one such trip, a tourist asked him why the tank in Bangalore is called Senki Tank. He felt very bad that he did not know the answer. In such a situation, he focused on enhancing his knowledge," Modi said.
In his passion to know his heritage, he found many stones and inscriptions and Dhanpal's mind was so absorbed in this task that he also did a diploma in epigraphy i.e. the subject related to inscriptions, the prime minister said.
In his broadcast, Modi also talked about Brian D. Kharpran, a resident of Meghalaya, and his great interest in speleology.
"In simple language, it means – study of caves. Years ago, this interest arose in him when he read several story books. In 1964, he did his first exploration as a schoolboy."
"In 1990, he along with his friend established an association and through this, he started to find out about the unknown caves of Meghalaya," he said.
Within no time, he along with his team discovered more than 1,700 caves in Meghalaya and put the state on the World Cave Map, Modi said.
The prime minister also hailed the Railways Truck-on-Track facility from Palanpur to New Rewari as part of which milk trucks are directly loaded onto the train.
"The major problem of transportation has been overcome by this. The results of the Truck-on-Track facility have been very satisfactory. Earlier the milk which used to take 30 hours to reach is now reaching in less than half the time," he said.
Extending advance greetings for Raksha Bandhan, Modi said that at the time of celebration, people also have to remember the mantra of 'Vocal for Local'.