Stating that the broadcast was not just a programme but a “matter of faith and spiritual journey” for him, Modi described ‘Mann Ki Baat‘ as a great medium to learn from the qualities of others, adding that it allowed him to connect with the people of the country like he used to when he was Gujarat chief minister.
04:40
Mann Ki Baat 100th episode: Mann ki Baat hits a century, celebrates India’s Jan ki Baat
“After coming to Delhi in 2014, I found that life here was very different. The nature of the work is different, the responsibility is different, one is bound by circumstances, the rigours of security and time limits. In the initial days, something felt different, there was an emptiness. Fifty years ago, I did not leave my home just to find one day it would be difficult to contact the people of my own country. The very countrymen who are my everything… I could not live separated from them. Mann Ki Baat gave me a solution to this challenge, a way to connect with the common man,” the PM said.
‘Mann Ki Baat triggered mass movements’
BJP turned the 100th episode into a mega outreach programme with senior party leaders, including ministers, listening to the address at different places. Chief ministers of party-ruled states and governors were joined by eminent citizens at their official residences during the programme.
The Prime Minister also spoke with four people about whose initiatives he had spoken in previous episodes of the broadcast. These included Haryana’s Sunil Jaglan, the man who started the ‘Selfie with Daughter’ campaign from his village in 2015; Vijayashanti Devi from Manipur, who makes clothes from lotus fibre and who said she would soon start exporting her products; Pradeep Sangwan, who runs the ‘Healing Himalayas’ campaign, collecting 5 tonnes of garbage from different locations every day and running waste management initiatives in the rural Himalayas; as well as Manzoor Ahmed, a pencil manufacturer in a Jammu & Kashmir village, employing over 200 people.
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Mann ki Baat 100th episode: PM Modi speaks to Kashmir’s pencil wood manufacturer Manzoor Ahmed
The PM said ‘Mann Ki Baat’ has featured several inspiring stories of talent, grit and creativity, and the radio broadcast has triggered several mass movements, from cleanliness and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, to the mission to re-establish India’s toy industry and raising awareness about Indian breeds of dogs.
“We started another campaign that we will not bargain with poor small-scale shopkeepers. Even when the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign started, ‘Mann Ki Baat’ played a big role in connecting countrymen with this resolve,” the PM said.
In a bid to promote local tourism and Incredible India, Modi recalled how ‘Mann Ki Baat’ called for people to promote tourism by visiting at least 15 Indian places, not within their states of residence.
“Through this movement, for the first time, people came to know about such places, which were just in their neighbourhood. Similarly, we have continuously talked about serious topics like clean Siachen, single use plastic and e-waste. Today, this effort of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ is very important in solving environmental issues about which the whole world is concerned,” Modi said.
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As India awaits 100th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’, here is how behind the scenes look like
The PM also relayed a message from Unesco director general Audrey Azoulay, who sought to know about India’s efforts towards putting education and culture on the international agenda. Describing both as “favourite topics” on ‘Mann Ki Baat’, Modi said preservation and promotion of education and culture were ancient traditions in India and the broadcast has highlighted several people who have perpetuated both education and Indian culture through their initiatives.
Referring to a mantra from the Upanishads on persistence and forward movement, the PM said the 100th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ carried the spirit of ‘Charaiveti Charaiveti’, connecting and inspiring every person in the country.