PM Modi flags off Dandi Yatra, names Nehru among ‘guides’ of freedom struggle

PM Modi said there were several agitations related to the freedom movement that have not been “presented before the people in the way they should have been”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the flag-off ceremony of the Dandi March or Salt Movement to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence, in Ahmedabad, Friday, March 12, 2021. (PTI Photo: Kamal Kishore)

Flagging off a commemorative Dandi Yatra to mark the 91st anniversary of the 1930 salt march led by Mahatma Gandhi and launch celebrations leading to the 75th year of Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday hailed the “path pradarshak” (guides) of the freedom struggle, including India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Using the word “andolan” (agitation) 24 times during a 40-minute speech before flagging off the march as part of the celebrations labelled ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, Modi said there were several agitations related to the freedom movement that have not been “presented before the people in the way they should have been”.

Today, the country is proud of its Constitution and democractic traditions, he said, adding that India is “moving ahead while strengthening democracy” at the same time.

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Addressing a gathering, Modi listed the names of the “brave” leaders of the freedom struggle, from Mangal Pandey and Tantya Tope to Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh and Ashfaqulla Khan — and those who “roared fearlessly before the British army” like Rani Laxmibai and Rani Chennamma of Kittur.

“Ya phir Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, Maulana Azad, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Veer Savarkar jaise anginat jannayak. Ye sabhi mahan vyaktitva azadi ke andolan ke path pradarshak hain. Aaj inhi ke sapno ka Bharat banane ke liye hum samuhik sankalp le rahe hain, inse prerna le rahe hain,” he said.

(“Or countless leaders of people like Nehru, Patel, Ambedkar, Bose, Maulana Azad, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Veer Savarkar. All those great personalities were guides of the freedom struggle. Today, we resolve to make the India of their dreams while taking inspiration from them.”)

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“We, Indians, have proved ourselves through hard work whether we live within the country or abroad. We are proud of our Constitution. We are proud of our democratic traditions. Even today, India, the mother of democracy, is moving ahead while strengthening democracy,” he said.

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