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The destructive forces looking to build an empire out of terrorism, can’t sustain and won’t be able to suppress the humanity for long, said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
In a veiled reference to the Mughal invaders, who repeatedly destroyed and vandalised Somnath temple in Gujarat, the Prime Minister stated that inspite of the attempts made to end the very existence of this historic temple, “it arose every time after each attempt of its demolition.”
Veiled attack
“The destructive forces, and the ideologies that want to build their empires through terrorism, may dominate for a short period of time. But their existence can never sustain. They can’t suppress the humanity for long,” Modi said while virtually inaugurating and laying the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth nearly ₹100 crore at Somnath.
The comments from the Prime Minister come in the backdrop of the Taliban’s invasion in Afghanistan and forcible ouster of the country’s democratically-elected government to gain control over the nation.
“Our thinking should be to improve our present by learnings from our history and build a new future. Therefore, when I talk of ‘Bharat Jodo Andolan’ (Unite India Movement), it isn’t limited to geographies or ideologies, but to connect with our past to build an India of the future,” he said.
Development projects at Somnath
The projects Modi inaugurated included the Somnath Promenade, Somnath Exhibition Centre and reconstructed temple precinct of Old (Juna) Somnath. The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for a Parvati Temple at Somnath.
The Somnath Promenade has been developed under PRASHAD - Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive Scheme at a total cost of over ₹47 crore, while the Somnath Exhibition Centre is also developed in the premises of ‘Tourist Facilitation Centre’. It displays the exhibits from dismantled parts of old Somnath temple and its sculptures having Nagar style temple architecture of old Somnath.
The reconstructed temple precinct of Old (Juna) Somnath has been completed by Shree Somnath Trust with a total outlay of ₹3.5 crore. This temple is also referred to as Ahilyabai Temple since it was built by Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, when she found that the old temple was in ruins. The entire old temple complex has been holistically redeveloped for the safety of pilgrims and with augmented capacity.
The Parvati Temple is proposed to be constructed with a total outlay of ₹30 crore. This will include temple construction in Sompura Salats style, development of garbhagriha and nritya mandap. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also joined virtually, while Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his Deputy Nitinbhai Patel were present on the occasion.
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