Amrit Mahotsav tipping point for new India: Modi

The collective strength of India's young will propel the development of the country in the future, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday as he drew parallels with the Dandi March, and hailed the sacrifice of freedom fighters to mark the culmination of a two-year celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, or 75 years of Independence.

At a ceremony on Delhi's Kartavya Path, Modi presided over the ending of the Meri Maati Mera Desh (my country, my soil) Abhiyan, which saw hundreds of thousands of people collect soil from various parts of the country, upload their selfies and take pledges for national development, and presented a road map for a developed India driven by its young people.

In an event rich with symbolism, Modi said just as the Dandi March the salt satyagraha helmed by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930-saw the participation of every Indian, the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav created a new record of people's participation that will lay the foundation for a developed India.

"The Dandi March reignited the flame of Independence while Amrit Kaal is turning out to be the resolution of the 75-year-old journey of India's development journey," Modi said, referring to the 24-yearlong period till 2047, the centenary of India's independence.

During the nearly 30-minute-long ceremony, Modi said that the Meri Maati Mera Desh Abhiyan was an example of how the young could organise and achieve any goal. He also launched the Mera Yuva Bharat portal, which he said would be critical in nation building.

Modi said that the most positive impact of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav was on the young. Pointing out that the current generation had not experienced slavery and that he was the first PM born in free India, Modi said the Mahotsav reminded people that there was not a single moment during foreign rule without movements for freedom, and that no section or region was untouched by these movements.