PM hails role of Christians, says Christ’s values ‘guiding light’

“The Christian community has played an important role in the freedom movement. Many thinkers and leaders of the Christian community were involved in the freedom struggle. Gandhiji had said that the Non-Cooperation Movement was conceived under the patronage of Sushil Kumar Rudra, principal of St Stephen’s College,” Modi said.

“The Christian community has continued to play an important role in giving direction to society. It actively participates in social service, and is always at the forefront of serving the poor and the deprived. Even today, across India, Christian institutions are making a huge contribution in important areas like education and healthcare,” he said.

“On the occasion of Christmas… India proudly acknowledges the contribution of the Christian community,” he said.

“In different streams of social life, we see many similar values which unite us all. For example, the Holy Bible says that whatever gift God has given us, whatever power he has given us, we should use it to serve others. This is service as the supreme religion. In the Holy Bible, truth has been given great importance and it has been said that only truth will show us the path to salvation… The sacred Upanishads also focus on knowing the ultimate truth, so that we can liberate ourselves,” he said.

“We can move forward together by focusing on our shared values and heritage. For the modern India of the 21st century, this cooperation, this harmony, this spirit of everyone’s effort, will take India to new heights,” Modi said.

“Christmas is the day when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ… Jesus lived the values of compassion and service. He worked to create a society which is inclusive and in which there is justice for all. These values are like a guiding light in our country’s development journey,” he said.

“The Holy Pope, in one of his Christmas addresses, prayed that those who are working to end poverty may receive blessings…These words reflect the same spirit that is in our mantra for development. Our mantra is ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayas’ (everyone’s support, everyone’s development, everyone’s trust, everyone’s effort),” he said.

“As a government, we are ensuring that the benefits of development reach everyone and nobody is left untouched. Today, the benefits of the development taking place in the country are reaching many people of the Christian community, especially the poor and deprived,” Modi said.

Discussing the target of making India a developed nation by 2047, and the Fit India movement, the PM urged community leaders, especially those associated with education and healthcare, to raise awareness on these issues.