Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon people to emulate the teachings of Sree Narayana Guru and follow his philosophy to get rid of social evils.
Inaugurating the 85th Sivagiri pilgrimage celebrations through videoconferencing at Sivagiri on Sunday, Mr. Modi said that the initiatives for ensuring equality for women and protecting their lives had already begun.
A legislation had been piloted to do away with practices such as triple talaq that affected the life of Muslim women.
Social reformers and spiritual leaders had taught the people to follow the teachings of the Guru and practise them in life.
Listening to stories about such great men alone would help one achieve such goals, he said.
The social reformation movement initiated in the current year needed to be expedited in the coming year too. The thrust should be on ‘reform, perform and transform’ to eradicate black money, social evils, and the injustice prevailing in society, Mr. Modi said.
He said the Guru’s exhortation to know each other and interact were always relevant. The Guru was aware that Dalits and those suffering from caste discrimination could be armed and emancipated only through education and hence he called upon them to gain strength through education and organisation.
The Guru had also established schools in neighbouring States to empower the weaker sections and now the movement had spread world over, the Prime Minister said.