India moved from trust deficit to trust surplus: PM Modi

Pune: Emphasising that development of the country is not possible in an environment of mistrust, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted that the country has moved from trust deficit to trust surplus.
Speaking after receiving the Lokmanya Tilak National Award here, he gave examples of the trust surplus in the major changes effected in last nine years, mentioning that India becoming fifth largest economy is one such example, development of Made in India corona vaccine, giving collateral-free loans under Mudra Yojana, surrendering of the gas subsidy by lakhs of countrymen are some of examples.
He also emphasised that due to this trade surplus, the Swachta campaign and Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao became a people’s movement.
Modi stressed that increasing public trust is becoming the medium of progress for the people of India.
He also underlined that after 75 years of independence, the country is looking at Amrit Kaal as the Kartvaya Kaal, where every citizen is working at their own level keeping in mind the dreams and resolutions of the country.
As a result, today the world is also witnessing the future in India as our efforts are becoming an assurance for the entire humanity, he said.
The Prime Minister expressed that citizens will definitely turn the dream of a strong and prosperous India into a reality with the power of Lokmanya Tilak’s thoughts and blessings.
He expressed confidence that Hind Swarajya Sangh will continue to play an important role in connecting people with the ideals of Tilak.
While paying tributes to Lokmanya Tilak on his death anniversary and the birth anniversary of Anna Bhau Sathe, the Prime Minister said, “Lokmanya Tilak is the ‘tilak’ of India’s freedom struggle.”
Talking about contribution of Tilak, he said that contribution of Lokmanya Tilak to the independence of India cannot be confined to a few words or events, as his influence was evident on all the leaders and events of the freedom struggle.
He pointed out that Lokmanya Tilak changed the direction of the freedom struggle with his ‘Swarajya is my birthright’ claim and said that even the colonial British administrators had referred him as ‘Father of the Indian unrest’.
While lauding the institution-building capabilities of Lokmanya Tilak, the Prime Minister said that his collaboration with Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal was a golden chapter of India’s freedom struggle.
Recalling Tilak’s use of newspapers in the freedom struggle, he said, “Kesari is still being published and read in Maharashtra. This bears testimony to strong institution building by Lokmanya Tilak.”
Highlighting Tilak’s nurturing of traditions, he said, “The celebration of Ganpati Mahotsav and Shiv Jayanti as public events were both a campaign of stitching India into a cultural thread, as well as a complete conception of ‘Poorna Swaraj’.”
“This has been the speciality of India, where leaders fought for big goals like Independence and carried the campaign of social reforms also,” he said.
Referring to Lokmanya Tilak’s faith in the youth of the country, the Prime Minister recalled his mentoring of Veer Savarkar and his recommendation to Shyamji Krishna Varma who won two scholarships in London.
Highlighting the special bond between the people of Maharashtra with Lokmanya Tilak,he said that the establishment of New English School, Fergusson College and Deccan Education Society in Pune is part of that vision.
“Vision of system building to institution building, institution building to individual building, and individual building to nation building is like a roadmap for a nation’s future and the country is following this roadmap in an effective manner,” the Prime Minister said.
He said that the people of Gujarat also share a similar bond with Lokmanya Tilak and informed that more than 40,000 people had turned up to welcome him and listen to his views in 1916, including Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
He further said that Tilak’s speech had left a deep impact on Sardar Patel, who installed a statue of Tilak in Ahmedabad when he was heading the Ahmedabad Municipality.
Speaking about the location of the statue in Victoria Garden, the Prime Minister informed that the ground was developed by the colonial British rulers to commemorate the diamond jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria in 1897 and said that despite facing resistance from the British, he installed the statue of Tilak, which was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in the year 1929.
Touching upon Lokmanya’s faith in Bhagvat Gita, he said that even in the face of incarceration in distant Mandalay, Tilak continued his study of Gita and gave an invaluable gift in the form of ‘Gita Rahasya’.
Talking about Lokmanya’s capacity to instill self-confidence in people, Modi said that Tilak restored people’s confidence in their fight for Independence, history, and culture.
“Tilak broke the myth of inferiority complex among Indians and showed them their capabilities,” he noted.
Earlier, the Prime Minister paid tributes to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chapekar brothers, Jyotiba Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule. He also underlined the extraordinary and unparalleled contributions of Anna Bhau Sathe towards betterment of society.
Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, NCP president Sharad Pawar, Tilak Smarak Trust president Dr Deepak Tilak, Tilak Smarak Trust vice-president Dr Rohit Tilak and Tilak Smarak Trust trustee Sushilkumar Shinde among others were present on this occasion.
Meanwhile, PM Modi who was conferred the Lokmanya Tilak National Award, has decided to donate the cash prize to the Namami Gange Project.