Tripura LS Poll: Poll material dispersed from Agartala amid tight security
PM Modi describes India as mother of democracy; calls for spreading awareness among people for proper recycling of E-Waste
Jan 29, 2023Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called India the Mother of Democracy saying that democracy is in the veins and culture of the Indian people. Addressing the nation in the 97th episode of his Mann Ki Baat programme on All India Radio, Mr Modi highlighted that India is the largest democracy in the world and has a democratic society by nature.
The Prime Minister said that Dr. BR Ambedkar had compared the Buddhist monks' union to the Indian Parliament. He described it as an institution where there were many rules for Motions, Resolutions, Quorum, Voting, and counting of votes. Mr. Modi stated that Babasaheb believed that Lord Buddha must have taken inspiration from the political systems of that time.
Mr. Modi mentioned a book, India - The Mother of Democracy, which contains many excellent essays on India's culture of democracy. He spoke about a small but famous village in Tamil Nadu - Utirmerur. The village has an inscription belonging to 1100 to 1200 years ago. This rock edict is like a mini-constitution. The inscription has a detailed explanation of how the Gram Sabha should be conducted and the procedure for the selection of its members.
The Prime Minister said Anubhav Mandapam of Lord Basaveshwara of the 12th century is another example of democratic values in the history of India. Free debate and discussion were encouraged in Anubhav Mandapam. He noted with surprise that Anubhav Mandapam was even before the Magna Carta. Mr. Modi said the republican traditions of the Kakatiya dynasty kings of Warangal were also very famous.
He added that the Bhakti movement furthered the culture of democracy in western India. He also spoke about the democratic spirit of the Sikh Panth which throws light on the decisions taken by the consensus of Guru Nanak Dev. The Prime Minister also mentioned community-driven and consensus-driven decision-making in the Oraon and Munda tribes of Central India. He highlighted that the spirit of democracy has been flowing in every part of the country for centuries. He stressed that the people of India should think deeply about this topic, discuss it and inform the world about this aspect. He said, this will further strengthen the spirit of democracy in the country.
The Prime Minister exuded pride that the United Nations took the decision of observing both International Yoga Day and International Year of Millets after India's proposal. He pointed out another commonality between the two by saying that both yoga and millet are related to health. He said that public participation in both campaigns is another commonality. He was happy to note that people are adopting millets on a large scale and making millets a part of their diet. He said, this has a huge and visible impact on small farmers who traditionally produced millet. He also hailed the fact that Farmer Producer Organisations and entrepreneurs have started efforts to market millets and make them available to people.
Mr Modi spoke about KB Rama Subba Reddy who is a resident of the Nandyal district of Andhra Pradesh. Mr Reddy left a well-paying job and started a millet processing unit in his village. The Prime Minister also mentioned Sharmila Oswal, a resident of Kenad village near Alibaug in Maharashtra who has been contributing to millet production in a unique way for the last 20 years. She is imparting training in smart agriculture to farmers and her efforts have not only increased the yield of millets but also increased the income of the farmers, he added.
The Prime Minister urged listeners to visit Millets Cafe when they visit Raigarh in Chhattisgarh. Items like Chilla, Dosa, Momos, Pizza and Manchurian are becoming very popular in this Millets Cafe, he mentioned.
Mr. Modi also praised the Milletpreneurs of Odisha who are in the limelight these days. He noted that a Self Help Group of about 1500 women in the tribal district Sundergarh is associated with the Odisha Millets Mission. He also mentioned the Aland Bhootai Millets Farmers Producer Company which began work last year under the supervision of the Indian Institute of Millets Research in Kalaburgi of Karnataka.
Most Recent
