PM: Previous govts were ashamed of India’s culture, ignored holy places

Shubhadeep Choudhury

New Delhi, February 4

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the elected governments of the past of being “ashamed” of promoting the country’s ancient culture and said this trend was being reversed over the last 10 years with the BJP government heavily investing in the development of ancient pilgrimage centres.

‘Vipassana a unique gift of ancient india’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said Vipassana was a unique gift of the ancient India whose application could help people tackle stress. In a virtual address to mark the birth centenary celebrations of Vipassana teacher SN Goenka, PM Modi praised him for giving the ancient school of meditation a global identity.

Speaking at a rally in Guwahati after launching multiple development projects worth Rs 11,600 crore in Assam, including one aimed at offering world-class facilities to pilgrims visiting the famous Kamakhya Temple — Maa Kamakhya Divya Lok Pariyojana — near Guwahati, PM Modi said ancient pilgrimage sites symbolised continuation of India’s civilisation over thousands of years.

“These sites showcased the grim struggle of survival by an ancient civilisation in the face of heavy odds. We have witnessed how great civilisations of the past now stand in ruins,” he said.

The Prime Minister alleged that following Independence, the elected governments underplayed country’s ancient culture and identity and ignored “Bharat’s

holy places” in order to cultivate a vote bank.

Prime Minister Modi further said the practice had been rectified over the past 10 years with the help of policies focusing on both ‘vikas’ (development) and ‘virasat’ (heritage). “Our policy entailed providing historical and spiritual places with modern facilities,” PM Modi said, maintaining it helped in preserving the sites and accelerating development.

Owing to this success, the Prime Minister said, record number of devotees had been visiting Varanasi after the completion of the Kashi Corridor.

“Over the past year one year, 8.50 crore people have visited Kashi, more than five crore Mahakal Lok in Ujjain, and more than 19 lakh Kedardham,” the PM said. He said 24 lakh people had visited Ayodhya in the past 12 days after the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of the Ram Temple. “A similar sight will unfold in Guwahati also after the completion of the Maa Kamkhya Divya Lok Pariyojana,” the Prime Minister said. “The livelihood of even the poorest gets a boost with the influx of pilgrims to a place,” he said.

Talking about the government’s focus on tourism in this year’s budget, PM Modi said, “Central government is about to initiate new schemes for the development of places of historical relevance.”

Claiming that the government had been able to effectively tackle the problem of militancy in the region, PM Modi said, “North-East has faith in Modi’s guarantee”. He said areas of Assam, which were once disturbed and hit with violence, had now become peaceful following government’s intervention.