India cannot afford to stay stagnant at this juncture: PM Narendra Modi

By PTI

AHMEDABAD: India can’t afford to stay stagnant at this juncture and it has to change into self-reliant, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated on Saturday whereas urging individuals to purchase locally-made merchandise solely.

He stated if individuals use native items for the following 25 years, then the nation won’t need to face the problem of unemployment.

Modi was talking after unveiling a 108-feet tall statue of Lord Hanuman in Gujarat’s Morbi by way of video hyperlink on the event of Hanuman Jayanti.

“India cannot afford to remain stagnant today. Whether we are awake or asleep, we cannot continue to remain where we are. The global situation is such that the entire world is thinking on how to become ‘aatmanirbhar’ (self-reliant),” Modi stated.

“I would request the saints of the country to teach people to buy local products only. ‘Vocal for local’ is the in thing. At our homes, we should only use things made by our people. Imagine the high number of people who will get employment due to this,” he stated.

“We may like foreign-made goods, but these things do not have the feel of the hard work of our people, the scent of our Mother Earth,” Modi stated, including, “In the next 25 years, if we just use local products, there won’t be unemployment for our people.”

The prime minister inaugurated the statue of Lord Hanuman on the Ashram of ‘Param Pujya Keshvanand ji’ at Morbi in Saurashtra area.

This is the second of the 4 statues being arrange within the 4 instructions throughout the nation, as a part of Hanumanji Char Dham undertaking.

The first statue within the sequence was arrange within the north in Shimla in 2010, and work on the statue within the south at Rameswaram has additionally began.

Calling Lord Hanuman an inspiration for all and the one who who ensured the fitting to respect of all of the forest-dwelling species and tribals, Modi stated it is a vital thread of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’.

He stated the spirit of Ram Katha – the story of Lord Ram, of which Lord Hanuman is an integral half, unites everybody by way of devotion to God.

“This is the strength of Indian faith, our spirituality, our culture, our tradition,” he stated.

Modi stated the identical spirit linked individuals from totally different sections in pre-Independent period India and helped the nation take resolve for reaching independence.

India’s religion and tradition emerges from concord, equanimity and inclusivity, he stated, including that Lord Ram set an instance of ‘Sabka saath, sabka vishwas’ (collectively, with everybody’s belief) by taking all collectively to perform a job, regardless of himself being competent to do all the pieces on his personal.

Modi additionally recalled his previous connection to Khokhra Hanuman Dham, the place the statue has come up, and stated it was a supply of inspiration for him.

Recalling the Machhu Dam catastrophe of 1979 within the area, he stated that classes learnt from that calamity helped him deal with the 2001 Bhuj earthquake.

Morbi has additionally benefited from the event of tourism in Kutch, he stated, whereas mentioning different vacationer points of interest, like ropeway at Girnar, which he stated has helped individuals attain the temple positioned atop a hill.

“India’s innate strength is such that tourism can be developed without doing much,” he stated, whereas emphasising on the necessity to preserve pilgrimage websites clear in order to encourage individuals to do the identical.

Country’s religious leaders offered new power to India’s independence by creating religious awakening amongst individuals earlier than 1857, when India’s wrestle for independence began, Modi stated.

“The sense of selfless service and devotion that Hanumanji taught will make India strong,” he added.