PM Modi flags off 'Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav’, remembers freedom fighters

The Prime Minister talked at length about freedom fighters and India’s present-day achievements

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav' in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad to mark the celebrations ahead of India’s 75 years of Independence. He flagged off the event by paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and all the freedom fighters who lost their lives fighting for the country’s independence. “I pay my respects at the feet of Bapu on this auspicious occasion. I bow to the feet of all the great personalities who sacrificed their lives during the freedom struggle of the country and lead the country. I salute them,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister concluded his speech by passing over the baton to the youth and scholars of the country.

The Prime Minister flagged off a padyatra or foot march from Sabarmati Ashram to re-enact Mahatma Gandhi's Dandi March. The 25-day padyatra will be undertaken by 81 people and cover a journey of 241 miles from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi in Navsari. Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel will lead the first lap of 75 kilometres.

The Prime Minister said ‘Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav means elixir of the energy of freedom, it means the nectar of inspiration from freedom fighters, the nectar of new ideas, the nectar of new resolutions. and the nectar of self-reliance’. This nectar of inspiration from the past will serve to further inspire the coming generations of this country, he added.

PM Modi invoked the Hindi idiom ‘desh ka namak’ and during the freedom, struggle salt became India’s symbol of self-reliance. “We still say we have eaten ‘desh ka namak’. This is not because salt is a very valuable thing. Salt has never been valued by its cost in our country. The salt here means honesty. Salt means faith. Salt means loyalty,” he said.

The Prime Minister talked about the contributions of Bhakti saints in 'continuously awakening this flame of the freedom movement' across all regions of the country. “In a way, the Bhakti movement had prepared the bench for the nationwide freedom movement,” PM Modi said.

Talking about freedom fighters from across the country, he invoked the memory of Kodi Kathmaran, the 32-year-old martyr from Tamil Nadu who lost his life while protecting the Indian flag. “The British shot the young man in the head, but he did not let the country's flag fall in the ground even while dying,” the Prime Minister said. He also talked at length about Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Birsa Munda for their contribution to the freedom struggle.

“Whether it is a memorial in Jallianwala Bagh or a memorial in remembrance of the Paika movement, work has been done on all. The places associated with Baba Saheb, which had been forgotten for decades, have also been developed by the country in the form of Panchtirtha,” said the Prime Minister.

He also talked about India’s present-day achievements, especially the country’s advancement in the fields of vaccine manufacturing and space exploration. “The whole world is benefitting from India’s self-sufficiency in vaccine manufacturing,” he said.

The Prime Minister concluded his speech by passing over the baton to the youth and scholars of the country, asking them to take forward the exercise of writing India’s history and the history of her freedom fighters. He also asked artists associated with theatre, literature, film, and digital entertainment to bring to life the unique stories of India’s past.