New Delhi/Kochi, Aug 30
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he welcomed “constructive criticism” and there should be enough space in public life for “differing streams” to listen to each other’s point of view. There should be continuous dialogue in society irrespective of different views, the PM asserted. “People with different views do not have to agree on everything, but there must be enough civility in public life for differing streams to be able to hear each other’s point of view...,” he said.
He was addressing an event in Kochi via video link from New Delhi. “Here I am, at a forum where perhaps I do not have many whose thought process is similar to mine but there are enough thinking people whose constructive criticism is something I look forward to,” Modi told the gathering. Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar, BJP’s Meenakshi Lekhi, Congress’ Shashi Tharoor, CPI general secretary D Raja, CPM’s Mohammed Salim and Trinamool Congress’ Mohua Moitra were among those present at the event.
He also pitched for using language as a tool to unite India, while lamenting that it has often been exploited by “selfish interests” to create a divide in the country. “India is perhaps the only country in the world with so many languages. In a way it is a force multiplier. But language also been exploited by selfish interests to create artificial walls in the country to divide,” the PM said and wondered whether the power of language can be used to unite India. “This is not as difficult as it seems. We can simply start with publishing one word in 10-12 different languages spoken across the country. In a year, a person can learn over 300 new words in different languages. Once a person learns another Indian language, he will come to know the common threads and truly appreciate the oneness in Indian culture.”
Referring to the “spirit of new India”, Modi said a culture in which aspiration became a bad word was perpetrated for many years. Doors opened depending on one’s surname or contacts. “Success depended on whether you belonged to an old boy’s club. Big cities, big institutions and big families … this is all that mattered,” the PM said. “The economic culture of licence raj and permit raj struck at the heart of individual ambitions, but India was changing for the better. This is an India where the surnames of the youth do not matter. What matters is their ability to make their own name.” — PTI
‘Departure from Hindi dominance’
The Prime Minister ended his speech by suggesting we all learn one new word a day from an Indian language other than our own. I welcome this departure from Hindi dominance and gladly take him up on this #LanguageChallenge.— Shashi Tharoor, congress MP
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via Today’s News Headlines
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