In this year’s first ‘Mann ki Baat’ address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that women in India are progressing in every field and, citing scriptures, emphasized that it is in our culture to respect women.
PM Modi’s first Mann Ki Baat for this year has become the talk of the town for more reasons than one. PM Modi made a special mention of astronaut Kalpana Chawla, whose death anniversary falls on February 1.
The PM Modi’s Mann ki Baat was a beacon of hope and inspiration to all Indians girls and women. He captured the pulse of Indian women. He intricately weaved an encouraging speech which gives a glimpse into the inspiring lives of brilliant Indian women who have made the country proud.
“Nothing is impossible for women, if they have a strong will,” said Modi presenting to the audience as if Kalpana was herself speaking the message.
Chawla is popularly recognised as the first woman of Indian origin in space. Kalpana died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003.
PM Modi migrated the listeners to the era of Vedas and Upanishads. He said, “From the time, Vedas have been written, the women power, who he referred to as ‘Nari Shakti’ has earned umpteen milestones.” “The women continue to play a pioneering role,” he added.
He also struck a contrast between having a son and a daughter. He also noted that one daughter is equal to ten sons. “The punya (good) we get from 10 sons, we get that from one daughter,” PM Modi said.
PM Modi also made the audience aware about the unsung heroes of India and threw some attention to the three women who are undergoing training to fly fighter planes and will become a part of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
“This will be the first time pilots will be flying a supersonic fighter jet for the first time in India’s history,” he noted.
“Three women Bhavna Kanth, Mohana Singh and Avani Chaturvedi have become fighter pilots and are undergoing training on Sukhoi-30,” he informed.
PM Modi commended the BSF women contingent ‘Seema Bhawani’, which performed daredevil stunts on motorbikes during the Republic Day parade.
PM Modi lauded the women of Chhattisgarh, Maoist-affected areas The Prime Minister lauded the women who started operating e-rickshaws.
Not only Chattisgarh, he directed attention to Bihar government on their initiative to protest against long practised issues like child marriage, dowry, etc. Formation of human chains in Bihar led to the decrease and elimination of such practices from the societal fabric.
PM Modi also noted that the government has changed procedures of selecting Padma award winners. The new procedure focuses on the work of the winner rather than the name of the winner. He also said that worthy people not living in big cities have been awarded with the recognition.
“In the last three years, the selection process has been made online, which has led to transparency and anybody can now nominate people for the honours,” he said.
