Country’s resources belong to each and every citizen and should benefit all, says Modi

New Delhi, December 22, 2020

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the country was proceeding on a path with every citizen assured of his or her constitution-given rights and no one left behind due to one’s religion based on the pledge "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Viswas".

Addressing the centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) through video conference, the Prime Minister referred to the University’s founder Sir Sayyad Ahmed Khan’s remark that "the first and foremost duty of one who is concerned about his country is to work for the welfare of all people. Irrespective of the caste, creed or religion."

He also released a postal stamp commemorating the event.

He cited various instances of government schemes providing benefits without any discrimination. Bank accounts of over 40 crore poor were opened and more than 2 crore poor provided pucca houses. More than 8 crore women got cooking gas connections. About 50 crore people have availed free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh under the Ayushman scheme.

“The country’s resources belong to each and every citizen and should benefit all. Our government is working with this understanding,” he added.

The vision of new India envisages that the development of the nation and society should not be seen from a political angle. People should be vigilant against misleading propaganda and keep the interest of the nation supreme in one’s heart.

“Politics can wait but society cannot, similarly the poor belonging to whichever section, cannot wait. We cannot waste time and should work together to create an Aatamnirbhar Bharat. For the attainment of national goals, all differences must be set aside,” he said.

The Prime Minister lauded Aligarh Muslim University for its contribution to the society during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Getting thousands of people to do free tests, building isolation wards, building plasma banks and contributing a large amount to the PM Cares Fund shows the seriousness of fulfilling your obligations to society. With such organized efforts, India is successfully combating a global epidemic like coronavirus," he added.

The Prime Minister said that, in the last 100 years, AMU has also worked to strengthen India's relations with many countries of the world. The research done here on Urdu, Arabic and Persian languages, research on Islamic literature, gives new energy to India's cultural relations with the entire Islamic world. The University has double responsibility to further enhance the soft power of the university as well as fulfilling the obligation of nation-building.

He referred to a time when the dropout rate of female students was more than 70% due to lack of toilets. The government built separate toilets for the school-going girl students in mission mode under Swachh Bharat Mission and now the school drop-out rate has come down to about 30%.

Modi lauded the "Bridge courses" being run for school drop-out students by the Aligarh Muslim University. “The government is very focused on the education of Muslim daughters and their empowerment. In the last 6 years, nearly one crore received scholarships. There should be no discrimination based on gender, everyone should get equal rights, everyone should get the benefit of the development of the country,” he added.

The Prime Minister said the country took forward the efforts to build a modern Muslim society by ending the practice of triple talaq. Earlier it was said, if a woman is educated then the whole family gets educated. Education brings with it employment and entrepreneurship. Employment and entrepreneurship bring with them economic independence. Empowerment comes from economic independence. An empowered woman contributes equally to every decision, at every level, as much as anyone else.

AMU has attracted many with its contemporary curriculum in higher education. The New National Education Policy has inter-disciplinary subjects similar to one already taught at the university.

“The youth of our country is committed to advancing the country with the call of Nation First. This aspiration of India's youth has been given priority in the new National Education Policy. Multiple entry and exit points in the new National Education Policy will make it easier for students to make decisions regarding their education. This will also give the students the freedom to make their decision without worrying about the fees of the entire course,” he added.

The government is also continuously working to increase the number of enrolment and increase seats in higher education. Whether education is online or offline, the Government was working to ensure that it reaches everyone and changes everyone's life. He urged the students to perform an extracurricular task on the centenary of the institutions, in line with the 75th anniversary of India’s freedom, to research about the lesser-known freedom fighters.

NNN