NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday addressed the nation marking National Cadet Corps (NCC) Day reflecting on his personal experience as an NCC cadet. He recalled how his NCC experience had been “invaluable” in inculcating “discipline, leadership and service among the youth.”
“Today is a very special day. Today is NCC Day. As soon as we hear the name of NCC, we remember our school and college days. I myself have been an NCC cadet. Therefore, I can say with full confidence that the experience gained from this is invaluable for me. NCC inculcates a sense of discipline, leadership and service among the youth,” he said on 116th ‘Mann ki baat’ episode.
He also addressed the contribution of Indian-origin nationals in the South American country of Guyana, including President Irfan Ali, in preserving and propagating Indian culture abroad.
“A ‘Mini India’ also exists in Guyana, thousands of kilometres away from India. About 180 years ago, people from India were taken to Guyana to work as laborers in the fields and for other works. Today, people of Indian origin in Guyana are leading Guyana in every field of politics, business, education and culture. Guyana’s President Dr Irfan Ali is also of Indian origin, who is proud of his Indian heritage,” he said.
“I learned about a similar effort taking place in Slovakia, which is aimed at preserving and promoting our culture. Here our Upanishads have been translated into Slovak language for the first time. These efforts also reveal the global influence of Indian culture. It is a matter of pride for all of us that there are crores of people across the world who have India in their hearts,” he added.
Here are top quotes from the episode:
- From the ramparts of Red Fort, I have appealed to such youth to join politics, whose entire family has no political background. To connect one lakh such youth, new youth, with politics, many special campaigns will be run in the country. ‘Developed India Young Leaders Dialogue’ is also one such effort.
- The country celebrates ‘Youth Day’ on 12 January on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. Next year is the 162nd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. This time it will be celebrated in a very special way. On this occasion, a grand event of young ideas is going to be held on 11-12 January at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi and the name of this initiative is ‘Vikas Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue’.
- In many parts of the country, the ‘youth’ are turning waste into gold by taking things that were considered useless. They are doing various kinds of innovations. They are earning money through this and developing means of employment.
- A few months ago we started the campaign ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’. People from all over the country participated in this campaign with great enthusiasm. The ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign is now spreading to other countries of the world. When I was in Guyana, I witnessed this campaign there too.
- Sparrows play a very important role in maintaining biodiversity around us, but today sparrows are hardly seen in cities.There are many children of today’s generation who have seen sparrows only in pictures or videos. Some unique efforts are being made to bring back this lovely bird in the lives of such children.