PM Modi urges citizens to celebrate 150 years of Vande Mataram

New Delhi | Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the national song 'Vande Mataram' depicted a vibrant and magnificent image of India, and urged citizens to make the 150th year of the song memorable by carrying forward its values for future generations.

In his monthly 'Mann Ki Baat Radio' address, he said many programmes related to 'Vande Mataram' will be organised throughout the country to commemorate 150 years of the national song penned by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and first sung by Rabindranath Tagore in 1896.

In his 30-minute address, the prime minister touched upon several unique initiatives undertaken by citizens in different parts of the country, including efforts to revive mangroves in Gujarat, setting up of Garbage Cafes in Chhattisgarh and attempts to revive lakes in Bengaluru.

The prime minister also lauded the efforts of the paramilitary forces -- BSF and CRPF -- to induct Indian dog breeds in their units and recalled that a Mudhol Hound had won laurels at a competition leaving behind dogs of foreign breeds.

"Our indigenous dogs have also displayed amazing courage. Last year, during a patrol in a Maoist-affected area of Chhattisgarh, an indigenous dog of CRPF detected 8 kg of explosives," Modi said.

He said the BSF and CRPF have inducted Indian breeds such as Rampur Hounds, Mudhol Hounds, Mongrels, Kombai and Pandikona in their dog squads and some of these will take part in the parade organised at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on October 31.

Modi also lauded the efforts to cultivate coffee in Odisha's Koraput, which is benefiting people in the region.

"There are people in Koraput who are cultivating coffee through their sheer passion. There also are many women whose lives have been pleasantly transformed by coffee," the prime minister said.

He said Indian coffee is becoming very popular all over the world be it Chikmagalur, Coorg and Hassan in Karnataka; the areas of Pulney, Shevaroy, Nilgiri and Annamalai in Tamil Nadu; the Biligiri region on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border; or the areas of Wayanad, Travancore and Malabar in Kerala - the diversity of Indian coffee is truly remarkable.

The prime minister said the world of culture and social media has lent Sanskrit a new lease of life and many young people were speaking in and about the language through reels.

"Many even teach Sanskrit through their social media channels. One such young content creator is Bhai Yash Salunke. What's special about Yash is that he is both a content creator and a cricketer. His reel on playing cricket while speaking in Sanskrit has been very popular," Modi said.