Pune: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday at the Lokmanya Tilak National Award ceremony in Pune that the "trust surplus" witnessed today can be seen in the policies and hard work of the people in the country.
Modi, who spoke at the ceremony with NCP leader Sharad Pawar, stated that development can't happen if people don't trust each other in his acceptance address.
India, Modi said, has gone from a "trust deficit" to a "trust surplus" in recent years.
Modi referenced an international poll to claim that Indians had the highest level of trust in their administration.
He claimed that the people of India have made significant progress possible in the last nine years. He went on to say that India's people are responsible for the country's rise to the world's fifth-largest economy.
The Prime Minister remarked that Lokmanya Tilak appreciated the value of an independent media. The liberation movement would never be the same after his influence. He said, "The British dubbed him the father of Indian turmoil.
Modi has stated that the nation now has confidence in all areas.
He added today that some people are uneasy with the idea of renaming a street after an invader from another country.
The Prime Minister has expressed his gratitude for receiving the Lokmanya Tilak Award, named for a leader in India's fight for independence.
He said that Tilak's story has many lessons for us to take away.
"The Bhagavad Gita held a special place in Tilak's heart. "He continued his study of the Bhagavad Gita, wrote Gita Rahasya, and introduced people to the power of karma even after the British had sent him to Mandalay prison," Modi remarked.
He cited Tilak's admonition that individuals must have faith in themselves.
He had a way of inspiring confidence in them. People had already decided that it was hopeless for India to be free of slavery, but he gave them faith that it was possible. Modi stated that Obama "had faith in our traditions, in our people, in our workers, and in the prowess of India."
He argued that national progress was impossible in the current climate of distrust.
A tweet from "Manoj Pochat" yesterday brought back memories of my trip to Pune a decade ago. After that, I gave a talk on the trust gap at Fergusson College. In today's interview, Modi stated, "he asked me to talk about how we went from a trust deficit to a trust surplus.
"Today, trust surplus is seen in both the policies and the hard work of the people in the country," the prime minister added.
India's rise to the position of world's fifth largest economy may be attributed in large part to the groundwork that the country's citizens have established over the past nine years. He complimented the Indian people for the success.
He claimed that Lokmanya Tilak had a special gift for spotting promising young people, using (deceased Hindutva ideologue) Veer Savarkar as an example.
Veer Savarkar claimed that Tilak was helpful in helping him get an education in the West after realising his potential.
He remarked that "the responsibility increases when an award is named after Lokmanya Tilak."
The Prime Minister also mentioned that one of Lokmanya Tilak's speeches had a profound effect on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Tilak had been to Ahmedabad to give a speech. According to him, there were around 40 thousand persons in attendance.
Patel was one of them, and he was very moved by what he had to say. Patel rose through the ranks to lead the city government of Ahmedabad, India. Take a peek into his mind. He decided to put up Tilak's bust in Ahmedabad, and he picked the Victoria Garden, which was built in honour of the British monarch, as the site, as Modi explained.
There was a lot of pushback from people who didn't want Tilak's bust in the garden, and PM Patel indicated that if Patel didn't resign if the figure wasn't permitted to be erected there.
In 1929, Mahatma Gandhi unveiled the bust of Tilak after it had been finally erected. I got to see the statue quite a few times when I was in Ahmedabad," he remarked.
In reference to Sardar Patel, Modi added that one might envisage him challenging the British Empire for the "son of the country" during the era of slavery.
Today, "some people make a hue and cry and get sleepless nights" if a street is renamed after an Indian figure instead of a foreign invader, he said.
Pune was instrumental in the development of an Indian vaccination against the 2009 COVID-19 pandemic. We are talking about 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (independent India) because we have faith in India's ability to succeed, he remarked.
Since receiving the Lokmanya Tilak National Award, Modi has donated the entire sum of one lakh rupees to the Namami Gange initiative.
"Today, the average citizen of the country can get a Mudra loan without providing collateral since the government has faith in their integrity and ability to repay the loan. In the past, people had to work hard (even for low-paying employment). The majority of work, however, is now done at the fingertips, on mobile devices.
Because of this, a new and more pleasant atmosphere is developing. The prime minister stated, "We can see that people who are filled with confidence are coming forward to work for the country," citing programmes such as Swachh Bharat, giving up LPG subsidy, and the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' campaign.
After obtaining an award, Modi stated, one's responsibilities increase, and when that award bears the name of Lokmanya Tilak, those responsibilities multiply by four.
After 75 years of independence, Indians see the upcoming 'Amrit Kaal' as the 'Kartvaya Kaal,' in which each person works at his own level while keeping the hopes and goals of India in mind. This is why the rest of the world is beginning to look to India as a beacon of hope for humanity, he continued.
With the help of Lokmanya Tilak's ideas and blessings, Modi added, the people of India will undoubtedly realise their dream of a powerful and successful nation.
Before Modi spoke, Sharad Pawar said the first surgical strike in India happened during the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
The NCP chief compared the time periods of Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi, saying that India has seen two distinct eras.
On the dais with Pawar were Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, and Pawar himself.—Inputs from Agencies