Excerpts from the 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inspiring monthly radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’ (Talk from the Heart) broadcast on April 30.
My dear countrymen, Namaskar.
Mann Ki Baat has become a unique festival, a festival of the goodness and positivity of the people of India. In this program every month we celebrate positivity, and we celebrate people’s participation.
Every time there have been newer examples; every episode brings new sharing of the success stories of India’s citizens. May it be girls’ education, cleanliness drive, love of khadi cloth, nature conservation, or 75 years of India’s independence, whichever issue Mann Ki Baat got associated with became a mass movement.
When I did the joint Mann Ki Baat with US President Barack Obama, it was talked about all over the world.
For me, Mann Ki Baat has been like venerating other people’s qualities. I had a mentor named Shri Laxmanrao Imandar. He always used to say, “We should worship the good qualities in others, no matter who is face-to-face with you — a compatriot, or an opponent. We must always try to find their good qualities, learn from and imbibe.” His words have always inspired me. Mann Ki Baat has become an important medium of learning from the qualities of others.
I believe that most transformative changes can be effected through collective efforts. India is chairing G20 this year. This is one of the reasons why our resolve to enrich diverse global cultures along with education has become stronger. A mantra from Upanishads has been inspiring the Indian collective mind for centuries, ‘Charaiveti, ‘Charaiveti, Charaiveti’ — Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving. Today we are completing the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat with the same spirit of Charaiveti.
More on Mann Ki Baat
Narendra Modi’s monthly radio broadcast Mann Ki Baat was launched on October 3, 2014, a few months after he became Prime Minister of India. The format was his way of making direct contact with the people of his country, something US President Barack Obama admired, joining Modi in a Mann Ki Baat in January 2015 when visiting India.
Studies have shown that over a billion people have connected to Mann Ki Baat at least once, as it speaks directly to people, and celebrates grassroots-level changemakers and achievements of people. It has influenced people towards positive actions. A survey by the Indian Institute of Management, Rohtak found a quarter billion people access Mann Ki Baat on radio, TV, or digitally. Mann Ki Baat has been translated into 22 Indian languages, 29 dialects, and 11 foreign languages by the national All India Radio.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said the radio program has turned into an “inspirational platform” fostering progress on priority themes that are core to India’s efforts toward achieving sustainable development goals.
The 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat was broadcast live at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Arrangements were made for groups of people to listen to this landmark Mann Ki Baat live at thousands of venues in India and abroad.
