PM’s address while unveiling 108ft statue of Hanuman ji in Morbi, Gujarat
Speaker: Narendra Modi
Date: 16 Apr, 2022

Namaskar! Mahamandaleshwar Kankeshwari Devi ji and all the dignitaries associated with the Ram Katha event, all the saints and sages present in this pilgrim centre of Gujarat, members of HC Nanda Trust, other scholars and devotees, ladies and gentlemen! On the auspicious occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, my best wishes to all of you and all the countrymen! On this auspicious occasion, this grand idol of Hanuman ji has been unveiled in Morbi today. The devotees of Hanuman Ji and Ram Ji across the country and the world are rejoicing the event. Heartiest congratulations to all of you! Friends, It is said in Ramcharitmanas that- बिनु हरिकृपा मिलहिं नहीं संता, That is, without the grace of God, darshan of saints is rare. Fortunately within the last few days, I have got the chance to seek the blessings of Maa Ambaji, Umiya Mata Dham and Maa Annapurna Dham. And today I have got the opportunity to be a part of the congregation of saints as well as to be associated with this event related to Hanumanji in Morbi. Brothers and sisters, I am told that such 108 feet high statues of Hanuman ji are being erected in 4 different parts of the country. We have been seeing such a grand statue in Shimla for several years. Today, this second statue has been unveiled in Morbi. I am told that work is underway to erect two other statues, one in Rameswaram in the south and another in West Bengal. Friends, This is not only a resolution to erect the idols of Hanuman ji, but is also a part of the resolve of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’. Hanuman ji connects everyone with devotion and service. Everyone gets inspired by Hanuman ji. Hanuman ji is the manifestation of power and strength who gave equal rights and respect to all the forest dwellers. That is why Hanuman ji has an important link with ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ too. Brothers and sisters, Similarly, Ram Katha is also being organized frequently in different parts of the country. Whatever be the language or dialect, but the spirit of Ramkatha unites all and connects one with devotion to God. This is the strength of Indian beliefs, spirituality, culture and tradition. It united different sections and classes as well as strengthened the concerted efforts towards the national resolve of freedom, even in the difficult times of colonialism. Despite the changing circumstances for thousands of years, our civilization and culture have played a pivotal role in keeping India strong and resolute. Brothers and sisters, Our devotion and the stream of our culture are of harmony, equanimity and inclusion. That is why while establishing good over evil, Lord Ram, despite being capable, despite having the ability to do that all by Himself, had decided to unite everyone and connect people from every section of the society. By seeking their help and involving everyone as well as the living beings of all sizes, he had accomplished this task. And this is exactly what ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Prayas’ is. The best example of ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Prayas’ is the life of Lord Rama, and Hanuman ji has been a very important link to the same. With this spirit of Sabka Prayas, we need to not only illuminate the ‘Azadi Ka Amritkal’ but also engage in the accomplishment of national resolutions. And today I have got the opportunity to interact with you all at Keshvanand Bapuji’s land in Morbi. We in Saurashtra must have heard about 25 times a day that this land of Saurashtra is the land of saints and generosity. Kathiawad, Gujarat and the entire India has its own identity. For me, Khokhra Hanuman Dham is like my home. My relationship with it has been very close to my heart as also that of duty. There has been a relationship of inspiration as well. Years ago whenever I used to visit Morbi, there used to be events around this place. In the evening I used to visit the Hanuman Dham to spend 5-15 minutes with revered Bapu and to take some prasad from his hands. After the Machhu Dam accident, this Hanuman Dham remained the center of various activities. And because of that I naturally developed a close relationship with Bapu. And in those days when people used to come forward with the spirit of service, then all these places had become the hub from where assistance was sent to every household in Morbi. Being an ordinary volunteer I have had the opportunity to be with you for a long time and be involved in what was being done for you in that crisis. And at that time, while talking to revered Bapu, he said that it was God’s plan to test us to make Morbi grand. And now we cannot stop. Everyone has to get involved. Bapu was a man of few words, but he could speak from his heart in simple language even from a spiritual point of view. Even after that, I was fortunate to have met him several times. I would say that the lessons I had learnt from Morbi’s accident like how to work in such a situation and all the experiences were useful during the earthquake in Kutch-Bhuj. And that’s why I am extremely indebted to this holy land because whenever I got a chance to serve, the people of Morbi always inspired me to work with the same spirit of service. And just as the beauty of Kutch has increased after the earthquake, Morbi too has shown the power of Gujaratis that can turn any calamity into an opportunity. Looking at porcelain production, tile making work, watch making today; Morbi too has become the centre of industrial activity. Earlier, nothing was visible around Machhu Dam except the brick kiln. There used to be huge chimneys and the brick kiln. But today Morbi stands with great pride. Earlier I used to say- Morbi on one side, Rajkot on the other and Jamnagar on the third side. Brass industry of Jamnagar, engineering industry of Rajkot and watch industry or ceramics of Morbi forms a triangle. The triangle formed has in a way given birth to a new mini Japan here. And a similar triangle can be seen in Saurashtra; and Kutch too has become a participant. The way the infrastructure has developed in Morbi, it is now connected to everything else. In this sense, Morbi, Jamnagar, Rajkot and Kutch have emerged as strong centres progressing with small scale industries and generating new employment opportunities. And soon Morbi started emerging as a big city, and has created its own identity. And today Morbi’s products are reaching many countries of the world due to which Morbi has now painted a completely different image. Earlier even the saints, mahants, and great souls of this land had performed penance and had shown us a direction and this is the result of the same. And in Gujarat, work related to spirituality keeps going on and there is no shortage of people who love charitable work. People line up Whenever there is an auspicious or welfare related work. And in a way, there is competition. And today, Kathiawad has become the center of pilgrimage. There is no such district that is not thronged by thousands of people every month. Be it pilgrimage or tourism, Kathiawad has developed a new strength in it. The beach too has started roaring. Yesterday, I got a chance to meet brothers from North-Eastern states of Sikkim, Tripura and Manipur. All of them had come to Gujarat a few days ago, and were a part of the celebrations of the sacred union of Lord Krishna and Rukmini. They all had come from Rukmini’s side in the marriage. And this itself is a very powerful incident. The entire North-East had thronged the Madhavpur fair, the land where Lord Krishna was married. They set an example of the wonderful unity of East and West. And the people of Northeast who had come here had a bumper sale of their handicrafts. It created a big flow of income for the North-East. And now I feel that this Madhavpur fair will be more famous in East India than Gujarat. That’s how economic activity increases. For attending the Rann Utsav in the Rann of Kutch, people have to go via Morbi. That is, Morbi too gets the benefits out of the festival. Several hotels have been built around the highway of Morbi. Morbi gets the benefit out of the people visiting Kutch. And when development takes place at the roots it brings long-term happiness. It becomes a part of the system for a long time. Now we have developed a rope-way system in Girnar. The elderly people who desired going to Girnar but were unable to do so due to the difficult climbing are easily visiting the place due to the ropeway facility. Children bring their 80-90 year old mothers and fathers now and the elderlies can easily seek blessings. Moreover, other streams too are created. Employment opportunities open up; and India’s strength is such that we can develop India’s tourism without taking any loan. We can publicize and propagate it in the right way. But the first condition for all that is – cleanliness in all the pilgrimage centres. The people should be taught to adopt cleanliness. Otherwise, we know that prasad distributed in the temples often caused problems in terms of cleanliness. I have seen that prasad is also available in plastic packets in the temples. However, after I said not to use plastic, the temples stopped using plastic packets for prasad. This means, the society changes even with the participation from temples and saints. We must work relentlessly to work and serve accordingly and keep on bringing reforms. It is our duty to learn something from it, apply it in our life, and get the most out of it in our lives. We are celebrating the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. Many great men have sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country. But before that one thing should be kept in mind. Before 1857, the entire backdrop of independence was already prepared and the atmosphere of spiritual consciousness was developed by the saints, mahants, sages, devotees, acharyas of this country. The Bhakti era had ignited the consciousness of India. And from that, the freedom movement had got a new boost. The cultural heritage, the saints who have worked for the welfare of the people have always played a pivotal role here. So remembering Hanuman ji is equivalent to service-devotion. Hanumanji has taught the same. The devotion of Hanumanji was in the form of service. The devotion of Hanumanji was in the form of surrendering. Hanumanji never showed devotion merely as a ritual. Hanumanji kept on increasing the heights of his spirit of service with his work, courage and might. And today, when we are celebrating 75 years of independence, we should strive to inculcate a stronger spirit of service within us to unite the society in a stronger way. We should strive to make this nation more and more powerful. And today India should not become complacent. Whether we are asleep or awake, we need to keep moving forward. Today the world understands the importance of becoming self reliant. Also, we should also keep raising the slogan of ‘vocal for local’. Use only those things that are made in our country, made by our people, prepared by our own hard work. If such a scenario is created, just imagine the number of people that will get employment. We might want to buy foreign products but there is hardly any difference between the two. If it is manufactured by the people of India, with Indian investment, with the Indian sweat and the aroma of the Indian soil emanating from it, the pride and joy we feel is absolutely different. I urge the saints and the sages to persuade the people to buy ‘Made in India’ products wherever they go. If that is done, there will be a day when there wouldn’t be any problem related to livelihood and finances within India. We keep hailing Hanumanji but what did Hanumanji say? His words can inspire us. Hanumanji always says- ”सो सब तब प्रताप रघुराई, नाथ न कछू मोरि प्रभुताई”, That is, he would always give the credit for his every success to Lord Ram instead of himself. He would say that every single thing happens with the grace of Lord Rama. Even today, wherever India has reached and wherever it wants to reach with its resolutions; there is only one way of accomplishing it – ‘by the citizens of India’. And that is where the power lies. For me, 130 crore countrymen are the manifestation of Lord Rama. The country is moving ahead with their resolutions. The country is progressing with their blessings. Let us move forward with that sentiment. With this spirit I once again wish you all the best on this auspicious occasion. I bow down at the feet of Hanuman ji. Thanks a lot!