“MANN Ki Baat, a spiritual journey, allowed me to connect with people”, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his popular radio show completed 100 episodes on April 30.
“Today, we are completing the 100th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ with the same spirit of Charaiveti Charaiveti (keep moving),” he said. “In strengthening the social fabric of India, Mann Ki Baat is like the thread of a rosary, holding each bead together,” said the Prime Minister.
“This programme has never let me stay away from you. I remember when I was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, it was usual to meet people. This is how a Chief Minister functions and conducts his office. But in 2014, after coming to Delhi, I realised life was quite different. The nature of work, responsibilities, bondage of circumstances, security scenario, time constraints, all were different. Initially it felt different, it felt like something was amiss,” PM Modi said in his milestone address.
Journey recalled
The Prime Minister, who has during his tenure stressed on the need for Government functionaries and party colleagues to remain connected with the people, said he was dismayed by the distance between him and the people. “I did not leave my home decades ago just so that one day it will become difficult to connect with my countrymen,” he said.
Recalling the journey of the radio programme, which is aired at the end of the month and made its debut on October 3, 2014, PM Modi said the show has given him a platform to share and celebrate success stories of ordinary Indians.
“I never feel that I am even slightly away from you. For me, the programme is not just a programme; rather it is faith, worship and resolve,” he said. “Just as people worship deities by offering prasad, for me, Mann Ki Baat is that offering at the feet of my countrymen,” added the PM.
Tributes to mentor
Paying tribute to one of his mentors, Lakshman Rao Inamdar, for teaching him the virtue of recognising and imbibing good qualities, PM Modi said, “I had a mentor who we used to call Vakil Sahab. He used to always say that we must worship the good qualities in others, whoever it might be an associate or an opponent, we must always try to know the good qualities and imbibe those. “His words have always inspired me and the broadcast has become an important medium of learning from others.”
The PM also acknowledged the publicity his show has garnered across the globe. While it was aired live at the United Nations headquarters on April 30, he recalled how his joint address with the then US President Barack Obama was discussed across the world.
Social causes amplified
The radio programme enabled him to amplify social causes that included the initiatives to reverse the skewed gender ratio (Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao), the cleanliness mission (Swachh Bharat Mission) and the support for local products (Vocal for Local), he said.
“It is difficult to believe that Mann Ki Baat has traversed so many months and years. Each episode was unique and every time there was the novelty of sharing new successes and stories from all corners of the country and of people from all ages,” he said. “Whatever the issue may be, Mann Ki Baat associated with it, and it became a people’s movement,” he added.
While he reconnected with some of the change-makers and trailblazers on the broadcast that he had earlier spoken, the Prime Minister also stated that some of the exchanges made him emotional.
“On many occasions, I got emotional and was swept away by emotions,” he said, adding that the public broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) that records his show has had to redo some portions when he expressed his emotions.
Change-makers rewired
The four change-makers the PM reconnected with in his 100th episode included Tongbram Bijyashanti Devi from Manipur, Manzoor Ahmad from Jammu and Kashmir, Sunil Jaglan from Haryana and Pradeep Sangwan from Himachal Pradesh.
While Bijyashanti Devi pioneered making cloths from lotus stem fibre in the Northeast, Manzoor Ahmad runs a manufacturing unit of pencil slates from his village in J&K. Jaglan’s ‘selfie with daughter’ from a Haryana village had spurred a campaign to save the girl child and Sangwan’s initiative led to the establishment of the ‘Healing Himalayas Foundation’ to clean the trash from the Himalayas
PM Modi inquired about the progress of their initiatives since their appearance in previous episodes of Mann Ki Baat and praised their work to promote the idea of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ with their unique ideas. The unprecedented response to his radio programme and its impact left the Prime Minister wordless, “Friends, by the way, I have so much to say today that both time and words are falling short. But I am sure that you all will understand my expressions, understand my feelings,” he said concluding his address.
