New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the 138th edition of his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on Sunday, highlighted the history and resilience of Gujarat’s Modhera, drawing a link between the destruction of its famed Sun Temple and the village’s transformation into India’s first solar-powered village.
Recalling the Somnath Swabhiman Parv held earlier this year, PM Modi said the country had begun the year with a celebration of its civilisational heritage and pride.
“We started this year with a Mahaparv of Swabhiman. The Parv was ‘Somnath Swabhiman Parv’. 1,000 years ago, in 1026, Mahmud Ghazni invaded the Somnath Temple for the first time. But the people who came to erase India’s identity by destroying the Somnath Temple have left no trace today. The Somnath Temple, standing in all its grandeur near the sea, continues to bless India with the spirit of immortality. That is why this year we proudly celebrated Somnath Swabhiman Parv.”
PM Modi said he was referring to the history of Somnath again while highlighting the parallel history of Modhera, where the famed Sun Temple was attacked around the same period.
“I am mentioning this again today because when Somnath was attacked by Ghazni in 1026, the famous Surya Mandir (Sun Temple) in Modhera, Gujarat, was also attacked in the same period and was destroyed. This year also marks 1,000 years of the Modhera Temple. At that time, it had been built only a year earlier, in 1025, by Raja Bhimdev I. When a centre of immense faith was destroyed, it could shake the strength of any administration. But Raja Bhimdev I not only fought Ghazni but also rebuilt the Modhera Sun Temple within a short period.”
He said the reconstruction of such monuments reflected the resilience that enabled India’s cultural heritage to endure repeated attacks.
“It was because of this resilience that the Somnath Temple continued to be rebuilt despite being destroyed again and again.”
PM Modi further recalled that the Modhera Sun Temple faced attacks in later periods as well, including during the reign of Alauddin Khilji.
“Attacks on the Modhera Sun Temple did not stop in later periods either. Later, Alauddin Khilji once again destroyed this architectural marvel of a temple. But the people of Bharat not only worship the Sun through architecture or temples; our worship of the Sun also signifies light, energy, science and the inspiration of continuity.”
Linking the historical significance of the Sun Temple with Modhera’s present-day identity, PM Modi said the village had transformed its relationship with solar energy.
“That is why Modhera today is not only known for the Sun Temple, but this village in Gujarat has become the country’s first solar village. Modhera today runs entirely on solar energy.”
–IANS
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