Rise of national consciousness at Maha Kumbh, turn of an era: PM Modi-OxBig News Network

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday described the just-concluded Maha Kumbh as an event that signalled the rise of national consciousness of India—an occasion that mirrors the turn of an era.

Lauding the world’s largest gathering, where over 66 crore people, double the population of the US, as the “Maha Kumbh of unity”, Modi said the 45-day celebration had showcased the rising prowess of India to the world.

“Maha Kumbh has concluded. A festival of unity has concluded. The sights we witnessed at the Maha Kumbh starting January 13 are the signs we witness when a nation’s consciousness awakens and the citizens, shedding the legacy of slavery, begin to breathe fresh energy and confidence,” Modi said in a message upon the conclusion of Maha Kumbh on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister also handpicked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for successfully leading arrangements to host crores of people at Prayagraj.

The rare praise for Yogi signals the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s rising clout in saffron politics.

Modi for his part said the Maha Kumbh festival and its mass attendance by Indians cutting across the barriers of gender, age, caste, faith and ideologies, evidences that the nation is ready to move with new confidence towards the goal of Viksit Bharat.

“Maha Kumbh marks the turn of an era. It is an event we have not seen in decades and one that will lay our foundations for centuries to come,” the Prime Minster said announcing that he would soon visit Somnath—the first among 12 Jyotirlingas—and pray for national welfare and progress.

Modi added that the conduct of Maha Kumbh, where crores congregated without scheduled arrival or departure times, is bound to become a subject of research for modern-day management professionals.

Noting the presence of a large mass of youth at the festival, Modi said this is a heartening trend and shows India’s youth are ready to be the flag-bearers of national heritage and culture.

“What happened at Prayagraj during the Maha Kumbh has never happened in the decades before…I believe this signals the turn of an era, an era which will script a new future for India,” the Prime Minister said.

“The way the faithful—poor or rich, young and old, rural and urban, west Indians and south Indian— citizens cutting across castes and ideologies united at Maha Kumbh in a show of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, we have to unite to achieve the goal of developed India too,” Modi said, adding that just as Lord Krishna had revealed to mother Yashodha the entire globe through his tiny mouth, Maha Kumbh had revealed to the world India’s growing national capacity and resolve.

In a jibe at past governments, Modi also said India would have become a major power had we, post Independence, realised our inherent strengths.

“We could not do this then. But I am happy that now that very inherent strength is uniting to meet the Viksit Bharat goal,” Modi said in a note on Maha Kumbh.