SOMNATH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said India has the courage to do something new, even in the most difficult circumstances, as it faces hurdles on the way to its target for 2047 and forces that threaten to break it.
Modi said that as the country completed 75 years of independence, it has invoked a sense of pride towards its heritage.
He said the pride in "our heritage will grow as we get to know it by freeing ourselves of our slave mentality", asserting that India celebrates its diversity.
Virtually addressing the closing ceremony of 'Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam', Modi said there is a lot between Gujarat and Tamil Nadu that has been deliberately kept out of our knowledge.
"Today we have the target of India at 2047 (make India a developed country). We also have the challenges of the era of slavery and the period of seven decades after that. We have to take the country forward, but on the way, there will be forces that threaten to break us and people to mislead us. But India has the courage to do something new even in the most difficult of circumstances," Modi said.
He also said that India is a country that showcases its diversity as its speciality.
"We are a people who celebrate diversity. We celebrate different languages and dialects, different arts and knowledge. There is diversity everywhere from our faith to our spirituality," he said.