"India Has Declared Freedom From A Slave Mentality," Says PM Modi

Inaugurating the world's largest meditation centre Swarved Mahamandir in Varanasi on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country has declared freedom from the slave mentality and is feeling proud of its heritage.

"In the era of slavery, the oppressors who made an effort to weaken India first targeted our symbols. After Independence, re-building of these cultural symbols was essential," he said.

Prime Minister Modi said that after India gained Independence, "there was an opposition to the rebuilding of the Somnath temple and this thought process remained dominant for decades. The result of this was this was that the country slipped into the pit of an inferiority complex and forgot to feel proud of its heritage," he said.

"After seven decades of Independence, the wheel of time has turned once again. The country has declared from the Red Fort freedom from a slave mentality and a feeling of pride about its heritage.

"The work which started from Somnath has now become a campaign. Today, the grandeur of Vishwanath is singing the tales of India's glory," Prime Minister Modi said.

For centuries, India has been an example of economic prosperity and physical development, the prime minister said, adding that the government, society and saints are working together for the rejuvenation of Kashi.

Following the inauguration of the Swarved Mahamandir, Prime Minister Modi along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took a tour of the centre that can seat 20,000 people at a time for meditation. Verses of the Swarveda have been carved upon the walls of the Mahamandir -- a seven-floor superstructure.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)