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Salient points of PM’s address in the 10th Episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat 2.0

  • My dear countrymen, generally speaking, I touch upon varied subjects in Mann ki Baat. But today, the foremost concern in everyone’s mind in the country and all over the world is the catastrophic Corona Global Pandemic.
  • Amidst that, it will not be appropriate on my part to reflect on anything else. But first of all, I extend a heartfelt apology to all countrymen. And I strongly feel from the core of my heart that you will forgive me – since certain decisions had to be taken, resulting in myriad hardships for you. And when it comes to my underprivileged brothers and sisters, they must be wondering on the kind of Prime Minister they have, who has pushed them to the brink! My wholehearted apologies, especially to them.
  • It is possible that many are annoyed with me for their confinement in their homes. I fully understand your situation; I can feel what you are going through. But in order to battle Corona in a country of 130 crore people such as India, there was no other option. The fight against Corona is one between life and death itself…we have to win. And that is why such strong measures had to be resorted to. No one wants to go that way; looking at what the world is going through, this was the only way left.
  • After all, the safety of you and your families has to be ensured.  Once again, I apologize for any inconvenience, any hardship caused to you. Friends, we have an adage-“ Evam Evam Vikar, api  tarunha Saadhyate Sukham”… which means, an illness and its scourge should be nipped in the bud itself. Later when it becomes incurable its treatment is very difficult. Today the whole of India, every Indian is doing just that.
  • Brothers, Sisters, Mothers and the elderly, Corona virus has incarcerated the world. It is posing a challenge to Knowledge, science, the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak alike. It is not confined to any nation’s borders, nor does it make distinction of region or season.
  • This virus has, in a way, obstinately picked up the gauntlet to annihilate the human race. And that is why humankind will have to rise unitedly, in the resolve to exterminate it. Some may feel that by complying with the lockdown, they are helping others! This is a misconception. This lockdown is a means to protect yourself.
  • You have to protect yourself and your family. For the next many days, you have to continue displaying this patience; abide by the Lakshman Rekha. Friends, I know that no one wants to overstep the law and break rules wilfully. But there are some who are doing so, since they are not trying to understand the gravity of the matter.
  • To them I will say that if they don’t comply with the lockdown rule, it will be difficult to save ourselves from the scourge of the Corona virus! The world over, many people nursed this delusion….all of them are regretting now. Friends, we are familiar with our adage “Aarogyam Param Bhagyam, Swasthyam Sarwaarth Sadhanam” -which means good health is the greatest fortune. Health is the only way to happiness in the world. In that backdrop, those breaking the rules are playing with their lives.
  • Friends, in this war, there are many soldiers who are fighting the Corona virus, not in the confines of their homes but outside their homes. These are our front line soldiers-especially our brothers and sisters on duty as nurses, doctors and paramedical staff. These are people who have defeated corona.
  • My dear countrymen, in this battle against Corona virus we have many examples of real heroes in the society. People who are at the forefront even in these conditions. On the Narendra Modi app, the Namo app, Niranjan Sudhaakar Hebbaale of BengaLuuru has written, that such people are daily life heroes. And that is quite right too. These are people due to whom our daily life runs smoothly.
  • Just imagine, if the water in your taps runs dry for just a day, or there is a sudden power outage in your house. At that time, it is these daily life heroes who banish our troubles. Think about the small retail store in your neighbourhood.
  • In these troubled times, he too is taking a great risk. After all, for whom? Isn’t it because he wants to ensure that you do not face any difficulty in buying essential goods? Similar to that, think about those drivers and workers, who are continuing to work ceaselessly, so that the nation’s supply chain of essential goods is not disrupted.
  • You might have noticed that the government has kept the banking services open. And those working in the banking sector are there at your service – with full commitment and dedication – leading us in this fight. These services are not trivial at a time like this. We cannot thank these bank personnel enough for their service. Many of our friends are engaged with e-commerce companies as delivery personnel. These people are continuing delivering grocery even in these trying times.
  • Just think, as you watch television during this lock down, using the phone and internet even while being home bound, someone is working hard to ensure that these services continue uninterrupted. During this time, many of you are able to make digital payments with ease, many people are working hard to facilitate that.
  • These are the people who are bearing the burden of the country’s work during this lock down. On behalf of all countrymen, today I wish to express my gratitude to all these people, and request them, that they follow all the safety precautions, take care of themselves and their family members.
  • My dear countrymen, I have come to know of some instances, that some of those people who were suspected to have corona virus and asked to stay in home quarantine, are being ill-treated by others. I am greatly pained to learn of these instances. This is very unfortunate. We need to understand that in the current circumstances, we need to ensure social distance, not human or emotional distance.
  • These people are not criminals. They are merely suspected to be infected with the virus. These people have isolated and quarantined themselves to protect other people from getting infected. At many places, people have taken
  • their responsibilities very seriously. They have quarantined themselves even when they were asymptomatic. They did so because they had travelled abroad recently and were being doubly cautious. They wanted to ensure that nobody else
  • got infected by this virus. So when people are behaving so responsibly, it is unfair to ill-treat them. On the contrary, they need to be shown sympathy and cooperation.
  • Social distancing is the most effective way of fighting against corona virus. But we have to understand that social distancing does not mean ending social interaction. Actually, this is the time to give a new lease of life to all your existing social relationships. To energise these relationships.
  • In a way, this time teaches us to reduce emotional distance and increase social distance. Yashvardhan from Kota have written on the Namo app, that they are increasing family bonding during the lock down. They are playing cricket and board games with kids; p reparing new dishes in the kitchen.
  • Nirupama Harsheya from Jabalpur writes on the Namo app, that she finally got an opportunity to fulfil her wish to make a quilt. On top of that she is also fulfilling her gardening hobby. I also happened to read the posts of Pareekshit from Raipur, Aaryaman from Gurugram and Suraj from Jharkhand, and they have discussed about having an e-reunion with their school friends. Their idea is very interesting.
  • It’s possible that you too might not have gotten a chance to talk to your school and college mates for decades. You too can try out this idea. Pratyush of Bhubaneswar and Vasudha of Kolkata have mentioned that they are reading books that they had hitherto not been able to read.
  • I also saw on social media, that many people took out musical instruments like table  and Veena that were lying unused for years– and started practising on them. You too can do that.
  • That will not only give you the joy of music, but also take you on a trip down the memory lane. In this crisis, you have got a rare opportunity to not only connect with yourself but also with your passion. You will also get an opportunity to connect with your old friends and with your family.
  • Shashi ji from Roorke has asked me on the Namo App – what do I do for my fitness during the lock down? How do I observe the Navaraatri fast in these circumstances? Let me reiterate, that although I have urged you to
  • avoid stepping out of your houses, I have also given you an opportunity to take a look inwards at yourself. This is your chance, don’t go out, but go inside, try to know yourself. As far as the navaraatri fast is concerned, that is between me and my faith and the supreme power.
  • As regards fitness, I think that will be quite a lengthy topic, so what I’ll do is, I’ll upload some videos on this topic on the social media. You can surely see those videos on the Namo app. What I do, possibly, can aid and inspire some of you.
  • But do remember, that I am not a fitness expert, I am also not a yoga teacher. I am merely a practitioner. I do concede however, that some yogaasanaas have greatly benefited me. It’s possible that some of these tips might help you too during the lock down.
  • Friends, this battle against corona is unprecedented as well as challenging. Hence the decisions being taken during this time are unheard of in the history of the world. The steps being taken by Indians to stop the spread of corona, the efforts that we are currently making, will ensure that India conquers this corona pandemic.
  • The determination and restraint of each Indian will also aid in facing this crisis. In addition, our sympathy for the poor should also be far greater. Our humanity stems from the fact that whenever we see a poor or hungry person, we first try and feed him or her in this time of crisis. We should think of their needs and India can do this.
  • These are a part of our values and culture.
  • My dear countrymen, today every Indian is confined to the home, to ensure his or her own safety, but in the times to come, the very same Indian will tear down all walls on the road to our progress and take the country forward. Stay at home with your family, be careful and safe, we need to win this battle. And we will win. We will meet in Man ki baat again next month. By then we should have overcome this crisis – with this hope, and this wish, I thank you all.

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