'When a man speaks in his native language, words come out of his heart': PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday applauded Mauritius for its immense contribution towards Hindi literature, and said that when a man speaks in his native language, the words do not come out of his mouth, but his heart.

"We are not the ones who set boundaries on the grounds of language, but we are those who want to accept .the languages across the world. Language is cannot be bounded by boundaries. When a man speaks in his native language, the words do not come out of his mouth but his heart," the Prime Minister said while addressing a gathering at the World Hindi Secretariat Building site in Phoenix.

"We know the prime minister's name is Anerood Jugnauth, but what we do not know is that from the name Jugnauth has evolved an English word which is Juggernaut which means a very strong force," he said.

He also said that Mauritius is one such country which has its own unique Hindi literature.

"A hundred years back, a female doctor who was also a follower of Mahatma Gandhi had started a Hindi newspaper here and it acted as a means to unite the people of the country. Today when Mauritius is celebrating its National Day, I bring you the good wishes of millions of people from India," said Prime Minister Modi.

"Today is also the day when Mahatma Gandhi started the Dandi March. Gandhi had come to Mauritius and had given the country a lot of love. Mauritius has helped Hindi literature a lot. This literature is taught all over the world but Mauritius is one such country which has its own unique Hindi literature. The love and acceptance that the Hindi language has received in Mauritius is an example in itself," he said.

"We can imagine that nearly 150 years back our ancestors had come here as labourers. In 1975 the thought to have an international Hindi gathering was accepted, but it took years for it to be implemented. Maybe I was destined to take this move forward and now I don't want any delay in this," he added.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister offered ' Gangajal' and prayed at the Ganga Talao, which is considered one of the most sacred Hindu places in Mauritius.

The visiting Prime Minister will address the National Assembly of Mauritius later in the day.

Prime Minister Modi, who was accorded a ceremonial welcome on his arrival in Port Louis yesterday, will also be the chief guest at the National Day celebrations of Mauritius.

On Wednesday, India and Mauritius signed five agreements to give new momentum to bilateral cooperation between the two nations.

The MoUs were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Sir Anerood Jugnuth.