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World keen to know about Indian heritage, says PM
New Delhi, June 28
Asserting that the world
was keen to know about Indian heritage, including yoga, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Sunday asked IT professionals to undertake "online
activity" giving more information on the ancient practice.
"The
world is keen to know more about India and our traditions and culture,
our values. We should distribute our knowledge across the world. But we
can do this only when we are proud of our heritage," Modi said in his
monthly "Mann Ki Baat" radio address.
He said there were many things which had been were bequeathed to Indians by their ancestors like yoga and family values.
"Why
don't we make the world aware of our family values?" he said, adding
that in a similar manner, it was "our responsibility to give the world
the knowledge of yoga".
"I request all young people, especially
IT professionals, to undertake some online yoga activity which would
provide information about yoga and its related benefits," he said.
Speaking
about the success of the first International Yoga Day on June 21, Modi
appreciated the armed forces for joining the event and their efforts to
make the day a success.
"On June 21, when I saw glimpses of UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon doing yoga at the UN headquarters, I felt
very happy," he said.
The prime minister said people suggested that he speak on monsoons, which has arrived in many parts of the country.
Pitching for rainwater harvesting, Modi said efforts should be made to conserve water. "This should be a mass movement."
He
gave the example of Mahatma Gandhi's house in Porbandar in Gujarat,
where there was a 200-year-old underground reservoir to store rainwater.
In
the run-up to the Raksha Bandhan festival, he asked people to ensure
that women get benefits of social security schemes launched by the
government.
"In August, we have Raksha Bandhan, we can begin a
mass movement to ensure that all women and sisters of our country get
all security scheme benefits before Raksha Bandhan," the prime minister
said.
"Whether it is a woman working as a maid in our house, or
in our fields or whether it is our own sisters, we can ensure that they
avail the social security schemes."
Rakshan Bandhan is an Indian festival which celebrates the brother-sister bond.
Modi
gave the example of the 'selfie with daughter' contest undertaken by a
village head in Haryana and asked others to take up similar initiatives
which would help the government's 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' campaign.
He asked people to post on social media images with their daughters along with the hashtag "#selfiewithdaughter".
The prime minster also asked people to coin slogans in any language on this topic, the best out of which he would retweet.