File photo of Thanjavur Temples
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that the people who sacrificed their all for India and Indianness were not given their due importance in the history written by colonial powers or those with colonial mindset.
“These irregularities and injustice against the makers of Indian history by the writers of Indian history are now being corrected as we are entering the 75th year of our Independence and remembering their contribution becomes all the more important,” he said during the laying of foundation stone of Maharaja Suheldev Memorial and development work of Chittaura Lake at Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh via video conference today.
Stressing that Indian history was what had been nurtured by the common people in their folklore and taken forward by the generations, Modi said there were innumerable personalities who were not recognised due to various reasons. He cited examples of the “bravehearts of Chauri Chaura”, as well as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and said they were not given the place that they deserved. He further said that the key architect of the Constitution and voice of the exploited, deprived and downtrodden, Baba Saheb Ambedkar was always looked through political prism. Today, all places associated with Dr. Ambedkar from India to England are being developed as PanchTeerth, he said.
Referred to Maharaja Suheldev’s contribution to protect Indianness, Modi said he had been kept alive in the hearts of people by the folklore of Awadh, Tarai and Poorvanchal despite being ignored by the textbooks. The Prime Minister recalled his contribution as a sensitive and development oriented ruler, and expressed the hope that the memorial for Maharaja Suheldev will inspire the generations to come. Modi had released a stamp commemorating Maharaja Suheldev two years ago.
The Prime Minister said the biggest goal of the monuments related to history, faith and spirituality, built in the last few years was to promote tourism. Referring to Uttar Pradesh in particular, he said Ramayana circuits, Spiritual circuits, Buddhist circuits were being developed at sites related to the life of Lord Rama, Shri Krishna and Buddha, such as Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Mathura, Vrindavan, Govardhan, Kushinagar, Shravasti for developing tourism in Uttar Pradesh. He said these efforts had started showing results and now Uttar Pradesh attracted the maximum number of tourists from other states. “UP has also come in the top three states of the country in attracting foreign tourists,” he pointed out.
– global bihari bureau
