Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 26 said a nation like India with such a glorious history must be full of self-confidence and self-respect, but lamented that concocted narratives taught till now had created a sense of inferiority in the country.
Mr. Modi said there was a need to get free from the narrow interpretation of the past to move forward.
“That is why the country has taken the pledge of removing all traces of slave mentality in the Azadi ka Amrit Kaal,” he said at the celebration of first ‘Veer Bal Diwas’, which commemorates the martyrdom of sons of Guru Gobind Singh — Sahibzadas Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh.
The Prime Minister had announced that December 26 would be observed as ‘Veer Bal Diwas’ to mark the martyrdom in January this year.
“Any country with such a glorious history must be full of self-confidence and self-respect, however, concocted narratives are taught to infuse inferiority. There is a need to get free from the narrow interpretation of the past to move forward,” he said.
Mr. Modi said the new India was correcting the mistakes of the bygone decades by restoring its long-lost legacy.
“When the core values of a nation go through a transformation, the future of the nation changes with time. The values of a nation can be preserved only when the present generations have clarity about the history of the land,” he said.
“The youth always seek a role model to learn and find inspiration. That’s the reason we believe in the ideals of Lord Ram, find inspiration from Gautam Buddha and Lord Mahavir, and make an attempt to live through the sayings of Guru Nanak Dev, while also studying the ways of Maharana Pratap and Chhatrapati Veer Shivaji”.
‘Age does not matter’
On the first celebration of the Veer Bal Diwas, the Prime Minister said it would remind the nation that age did not matter when it came to extreme valour and sacrifice. “Veer Bal Diwas will tell us what is India and what is its identity and every year, Veer Bal Diwas will inspire us to recognise our past and make our future. This will also remind everyone about the strength of our young generation”.
“Aurangzeb and his people wanted to convert the religion of Guru Gobind Singh’s children on the basis of sword, that is why he decided to kill the two innocent children. Imagine that era when against the terror of Aurangzeb, against his plans to change India, Guru Gobind Singh stood like a mountain.”
“On the one hand there was terrorism and on the other spiritualism. On the one hand there was communal violence and on the other there was liberalism. On the one hand there were forces of lakhs while on the other there were just ‘Veer Sahibzaade’ who did not budge at all,” he said, referring to the two martyred children of the Guru.
“On the one hand there was the mighty Mughal Sultanate blinded by religious fanaticism, while on the other hand there were our Gurus gleaming in the knowledge and living by the ancient principles of India”, the Prime Minister said.
Among those present on the occasion were Chief Ministers of Punjab and Maharashtra — Bhagwant Mann and Eknath Shinde — and Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Meenakshi Lekhi.
