Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said society's tendency to hesitate in honouring its "true heroes" had, in the past, allowed "professional goons and mafia" to be projected as icons, while real role models were often portrayed as villains.
Addressing a programme marking 50 years of the Bharatendu Natya Akademi after inaugurating the 'Swarn Jayanti Natya Samaroh', Adityanath said such distortions in cultural representation had influenced social character.
"Our problem is that we shy away from respecting our own heroes. As a result, at one time, our institutions were under those who glorified criminals as heroes and presented genuine role models negatively as villains. What is served to society is what it ultimately accepts," he said.
The chief minister noted that with cinema and theatre now attempting to present more meaningful content, society too was responding positively to truthful narratives.
Citing the enduring appeal of the television serial Ramayan, he stressed the need to revive stories of historical and cultural icons through theatre and educational platforms and suggested plays on Rani Lakshmibai, Maharaja Suheldev, Ram Prasad Bismil and Chandra Shekhar Azad.
Highlighting the legacy of the 11th-century king from Shravasti, Maharaja Suheldev, the chief minister said the ruler had resisted Salar Masood, who had destroyed the Somnath temple and Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.
{{/usCountry}}Highlighting the legacy of the 11th-century king from Shravasti, Maharaja Suheldev, the chief minister said the ruler had resisted Salar Masood, who had destroyed the Somnath temple and Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.
{{/usCountry}}"Maharaj Sahdev gave him the worst kind of death in Islam," he said, adding that a grand memorial dedicated to Suheldev has now been constructed in Bahraich with the support of the central government.
He called upon the Bharatendu Natya Akademi to work in this direction by promoting theatrical productions and cultural programmes centred on national icons, saying such efforts were essential to preserve India's cultural and civilisational values.
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