Need to encourage youth to realise Viksit Bharat dream: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the importance of inspiring the youth to actively participate in realizing the vision of a Viksit Bharat (developed India) during his address at the 200th-anniversary celebrations of the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir in Vadtal, Gujarat, on Monday.

“I and you, we should all encourage people for a Viksit Bharat. We should motivate especially young minds to realize this dream. To achieve this, we must live every moment with the thought of a Viksit Bharat and participate in it wholeheartedly,” said PM Modi.

PM Modi said that the first step toward realizing this vision is to make India self-reliant (Aatm Nirbhar). He said that the nation should not rely on external aid but focus on building its own strength through initiatives like “Vocal for Local” while also fostering unity among citizens. He cautioned against divisive forces aimed at exploiting caste and gender differences for personal or ideological gains.

He said that many countries sought skilled Indian youth, praising their abilities to tackle not only national challenges but also global issues. “Whenever I meet leaders from other countries, they tell me that they want young people from India to come and work in their countries because they are attracted to the skills of Indian youth,” PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the critical need to safeguard the youth from the dangers of drug abuse and addiction, calling for continuous efforts to address this issue. “This country can only develop when we take care of such issues,” he said.

“Swaminarayan community has always worked very hard on de-addiction. Our saints and Mahatmas can make a huge contribution to keeping the youth away from addiction and making them drug-free. Such campaigns and efforts are always necessary to save the youth from addiction and we will have to do this continuously…Now the example of Ayodhya is in front of all of us. After 500 years, a dream has been fulfilled. The transformation of Kashi and Kedar is in front of us…A new consciousness, a new revolution is visible everywhere. Not only this, there was no one to look for the hundreds of years old idols stolen from our country, today after searching and finding our idols which were stolen from the world, the forms of our gods and goddesses which were stolen are returning to our temples,” he said.

The Shree Swaminarayan Mandir in Vadtal has long been a center of spiritual influence, not only in Gujarat but also worldwide. Built under the guidance of Sadguru Shree Brahmanand Swami and Sadguru Shree Aksharanand Swami, the temple is a symbol of harmony and unity, featuring colorful stone carvings and depictions of deities. The temple, designed in a lotus shape, embodies the spirit of interfaith unity, and its construction was completed in just 15 months.