‘Mann Ki Baat’ turns 10, PM Modi becomes emotional during 114th edition

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' has reached a significant milestone, celebrating its 10th anniversary on Sunday. 

Launched on October 3, 2014, on the occasion of Vijayadashami, the programme has come a long way to become very popular in every household in the country. It has played a great role in bringing the lesser-known talents and personalities, who have contributed a lot to the development of the country, to the fore.

While radio has lost its relevance in the modern era of advanced information and technology to a great extent, PM Modi brought the medium to the limelight again by interacting with the people of the nation in an effective manner. During the journey, the Prime Minister got connected with people from every nook and corner of the country through the program and in the process, many talents in different fields from the remote areas came to the fore.

Prime Minister Modi gave credit to the listeners for the success of the programme.

“This edition of 'Mann Ki Baat' is making me emotional and nostalgic. It’s because the journey of 'Mann Ki Baat' has completed 10 years. New stories, successful sagas and new personalities have been connected with each issue of 'Mann Ki Baat' during the last 10 years. The collaborative effort in our society is always respected in 'Mann Ki Baat',” said PM Modi.

During the 114th edition of 'Mann Ki Baat', PM Modi heaped praises on Ramjeet Tudu, a tribal boy from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. 

The talented young man, who is the Assistant Revenue Inspector (ARI) in Keonjhar, has developed a digital platform where literature can be read and written in the Santhali language.

“There are thousands of languages in our country, out of which Santhali is one. A campaign has been started to give a new identity to Santhali with the help of digital innovation. There are some languages which are used by very few people. One such language is the ‘Santhali’ language. With the help of digital innovation, Ramjeet Tudu is taking every step to preserve the age-old language,” said PM Modi.

“A few years back, Ramjeet felt sorry that he could not use his Santhali language while using his phone. Thus, began his efforts to preserve the Santhali language. His effort is really commendable and is reaching to lakhs of people,” he added.

In response, an elated Ramjeet said, “When I started using a mobile phone, I came to know that there were only mainstream languages for chatting or sending messages. So, it struck me that I should develop ‘Santhali’ alphabet. Hopefully, my little effort will go a long way in helping lakhs of my people.”