In an oblique reference to Indian Air Force fighter pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the very meaning of the word “abhinandan” will be changed.
In his first public speech after the Wing Commander returned to India, two days after his MiG-21 fighter jet came down in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Mr. Modi said that India had the strength to change the dictionary meaning of words.
Addressing Indian and international delegates at the launch of the Global Housing Technology Challenge, Mr. Modi said: “Whatever India does, the world will pay attention. This country has the strength to change the meaning of the words in the dictionary. Once, the meaning of “abhinandan” in English was “congratulations”; now the meaning of ‘abhinandan’ will change. That strength exists in this country,” he said, to heavy applause. “Let us take that self-confidence and move forward as a courageous country.”
