Modi at Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar: Linguistic diversity our strength to end slave mentality

This year, 20 children were awarded the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar.

“Bharat has now decided we must be free from this slave mentality. Memories of the sacrifice and courage of Indians will not be suppressed,” he said.

Modi said the country is remembering the brave sons who represent the pinnacle of India’s indomitable courage, valour and bravery.

“Today, we remember the brave Sahibzade, the pride of our nation. They embody India’s indomitable courage and the highest ideals of valour. Those brave Sahibzade broke the limits of age and circumstance. They stood like a rock against the cruel Mughal Sultanate, shaking the very existence of religious fanaticism and terror. A nation with such a glorious past, whose young generation has inherited such inspirations, what can that nation not achieve?” he said.

The PM said the Sahibzade were quite young at the time, but Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s cruelty was unmoved by that.

“Aurangzeb knew if he wanted to instil fear among the people of India and force religious conversion, he would first have to break the morale of Indians. That is why he made Sahibzade his target. But Aurangzeb and his commanders forgot that our gurus were not ordinary human beings. They were living embodiments of penance and sacrifice, divine incarnations in spirit and action,” he said.

“… The fight was between the fundamental ideas of the country and religious fanaticism. That fight was between truth and falsehood. On one side was Guru Gobind Singh, and on the other side was cruel Aurangzeb’s rule…” he said.

The story of the sacrifice of the Sahibzade should have been “on the lips of every person”, but “unfortunately, even after Independence, gulami ki mansikta (slave mentality) remained in the country”, Modi said.

“Bharat has now decided we must be free from this slave mentality. Memories of the sacrifice and courage of Indians will not be suppressed… that is why we are celebrating Veer Bal Diwas. We have not stopped there. The conspiracy that Macaulay hatched… it will be 200 years since then… we have 10 years till that… in these 10 years, we will rid the nation completely of the slave mentality,” he said.

Referring to the youth, he said, “Your generation will take the country towards its goal of Viksit Bharat. I see and understand the capability and confidence of Gen Z. That’s why I trust you very much… Earlier, the youth was scared to even dream; the old systems gave rise to an atmosphere where the belief was that nothing good could happen. There was disappointment all around. But today, the country is searching for talent, and giving it a platform.”

Pointing out that the youth today is growing up at a time when more opportunities are available, he said that important reforms have been made through the NEP 2020 to lay the foundation for Viksit Bharat.