Addressing the closing ceremony of the centenary celebrations of Gita Press in Gorakhpur, the PM, who also flagged off Vande Bharat trains in the district, said that the publishing house is no less than a “mandir”(a temple) for crores of people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that his visit to Gorakhpur exemplified the BJP government’s policy of taking both development and heritage side by side.
Addressing the closing ceremony of the centenary celebrations of Gita Press in Gorakhpur, the PM, who also flagged off Vande Bharat trains in the district, said that the publishing house is no less than a “mandir”(a temple) for crores of people.
“It is the only printing press in the country which is not just an institution but a living faith,” he said.
Referring to the establishment of Gita Press in 1923 as a “spiritual light” that gave direction to humanity even today, Modi said that the government led by him has conferred Gandhi Peace Award on the press as it completed 100 years. “Gandhiji was emotionally attached to the Gita Press and used to write for its publication Kalyan Patrika. It was he who suggested that Kalyan Patrika be published without any advertisement. Giving respect to the Gita Press is like giving respect to the country’s heritage,” he added.
Paying homage to the founders of Gita Press — Jayadayal Goyandka and Hanuman Prasad Poddar, the Prime Minister further said, “Institutions like the Gita Press are not just associated with dharma and karma but they also have a national character). The Press the founders contributed selflessly to the society without any publicity. This led to both spritual and intellectual satisfaction of so many people and created numerous dedicated citizens.”
The Gita Press, he claimed, unites the country and strengthens solidarity through its 20 branches and stores in every corner of the country by publishing about 1,600 titles in 15 languages.
“The Gita Press represents ‘EK Bharat, shreshta Bharat’ (One India, great India), he said.
Citing the publishing house’s contribution during the Independence struggle, Modi said that when invaders were setting libraries on fire long ago and when the tradition of ‘guru and gurukul’ was being destroyed during the British rule, our heritage faced a real-time threat.
“Just imagine how our society was able to function without the Gita and the Ramayana?” he asked.
Citing a verse from Gita “yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavti Bharat (God is born in human form when “adharma” become powerful), the PM said the Gita Press started its work of “chetna and chintan” (consciousness and thought) in 1923 by ensuring that not just the Gita but other scriptures also reached every household.
He also recalled his own address from the Red Fort about “freedom from the mentality of slavery and about taking pride in our own heritage”, claiming that the country is moving forward by taking both development and heritage along.
He asserted that while on the one hand, the country is breaking new ground in digital technology, the divine form of Vishwanath Dham, on the other, emerged following the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor.
The country is also witnessing the grandeur of pilgrimages like Kedarnath and Mahakal Mahalok alongside the development of world-class infrastructure, he said.
The PM also pointed out how the dream of construction of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya is also being fulfilled after centuries. The country, he added, has replaced the sign of slavery in the new Naval Ensign that represents the era of Chhatrapati Shivaji.
He said that the pre-independence nomenclature ‘Rajpath’ has been replaced with the ‘Kartavya Path’, inspiring a sense of duty and that museums are being developed across the country to honour freedom fighters from tribal communities. Even sacred idols, which were stolen ages ago, are being brought back to the country, he said.
“We were carrying signs of slavery on our Navy flag even 75 years after Independence. We were following British conventions right next to our Parliament in the national capital. We have done the job of changing these with full self-confidence. We have given due respect to our heritage and Indian thought,” he said.
Expressing confidence that the spiritual practices of saints and sages will continue to give energy to an all-round development of India, Modi said, “Jis viksit aur adhyatmik Bharat ka vichar humare manishiyon ne humein diya hai, aaj hum use sarthak hota hua dekh rahe hai (the vision of a developed and spiritual India that our saints gave us seems to be becoming true).”
“We will build a new India and make the vision of world welfare a reality,” he concluded.
Earlier, the PM visited the Leela Chitra temple on the Gita Press premises and paid floral tributes to the portrait of Lord Ram. Later, he laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of the Gorakhpur railway station and flagged off two Vande Bharat Express trains.
