Karenge, aur kar ke rahenge India free from poverty, graft, illiteracy by 75th year of Independence in 2022, says Modi
Giving a clarion call for reviving the spirit of unity of the freedom struggle and setting targets for removing poverty, illiteracy, inequality and corruption when the country turns 75 in 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked the countrymen to take up these challenges with a determination of ‘Karenge, aur kar ke rahenge’ in the next five years.
Addressing the lok Sabha on the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement, he said corruption, poverty, illiteracy and malnutrition are the greatest challenges that India needs to overcome and a common resolve is needed for this.
“We need to bring a positive change in this regard,” Modi said, adding, for the next five years, the country must create the same spirit that existed between 1942 and 1947.
In 1942, the clarion call was ‘Karenge ya Marenge’ (Do or Die) — today it is ‘Karenge, aur kar ke rahenge.’ The next five years should also be about ‘Sankalp se siddhi’, a resolve which will lead us to accomplishment,” Modi said.
Modi said India’s freedom movement not only culminated in the country’s Independence, but also inspired several countries to throw off their yoke of colonialism.
He said from 1857 to 1942, the move towards freedom was incremental, but the years from 1942 to 1947 were transformative and delivered on the objective.
“In 1942, conditions internationally became favourable for India to get Independence. Today again, the global conditions are favourable for India,” he said.
Calling for an approach of unity, he asked the MPs to sink their differences and join in a common effort to create an India of the dreams of the freedom fighters in the next five years, from 2017 to 2022.
Modi remembered the role played by women during the freedom struggle saying they can add immense strength to common objectives even today.
He said a wide range of individuals responded to Mahatma Gandhi’s call of “Do or Die” in 1942 and even as many senior leaders like Gandhi were jailed at the beginning of the Quit India Movement, a new generation of leaders emerged to take the movement forward.
“The Quit India Movement marked the rise of a new leadership. They supported Mahatma Gandhi during the movement,” he said.
Modi said the recollection of movements such as Quit India was a source of inspiration and the current generation has the responsibility of passing on the legacy of such movements to the future generations.
He recalled the role played by leaders at different periods, including Subhas Chandra Bose, lal Bahadur Shastri, Jayaprakash Narayan, Chandrashekar Azad, Ram Manohar lohia, and Raj Guru.
Modi stressed that Gandhi had said that he would not be satisfied unless the country gets full freedom, but he never left the path of non-violence.
At the end of his address, the PM referred to the enactment of the GST Act saying the way the political parties and State Governments had extended support to the legislation, a similar approach would be taken by all concerned to resolve the problems of the country. H said this was an issue of the country and not that of a particular party.
He described Quit India agitation as a decisive movement where right from political leaders to the common man, everyone was imbued with the spirit of “Do or Die”.
“Five years was all it took to achieve the objective of Independence, once the entire country shared this common resolve,” he said.
Modi concluded with the resolve to overcome corruption, giving the poor their rights, giving the youth self-employment, ending malnutrition, the barriers towards women empowerment and illiteracy.
“We will together eliminate corruption and we will do it; We will empower the poor with their rights and we will do it; we will ensure employment to the youth and we will do it; we will together eliminate malnutrition and we will do it; we will together eliminate all hurdles for women empowerment and we will do it; we will together end illiteracy and we will do it,” the PM said as MPs thumped their desks and applauded his address.