PM Modi cites Pokhran, says no power in the world can make India bow down

May 11 is a significant date as it not only marks the consecration of the Somnath temple, but also India's nuclear tests in 1998 under leadership of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday cited the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests to assert that no power in the world can make India bow down or succumb to pressure.

 

Addressing a gathering at Somnath Amrut Mahotsav in Gujarat, marking 75 years of the inauguration of the restored temple, Modi also said that “forces” in the country continue to prioritise appeasement politics over national self-respect. A similar mindset, he said, was witnessed during the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

 

“While India attained Independence in 1947, the pran pratishtha (consecration ceremony) of Somnath in 1951 served as a proclamation of India’s liberated consciousness,” he said.

 

May 11 is a significant date as it not only marks the consecration of the Somnath temple, but also India’s nuclear tests in 1998 under the leadership of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said.

 

“On May 11, 1998, the nation conducted its nuclear tests. Our scientists demonstrated India’s capabilities and potential to the entire world,” Modi said.

 

The tests “sent shockwaves across the globe” and triggered angry reactions from several countries, he said.

 

“Global powers mobilised to suppress India. Various sanctions were imposed, and every passage to avert a potential economic crisis was blocked,” the PM said, adding that many countries would have 

 

succumbed under such circumstances, but India stood firm.

 

“At that time, India faced immense pressure from the entire world. Yet, under the leadership of Atal ji, the BJP government demonstrated that for us, the nation comes first. No power on earth can make India bow down or succumb to pressure,” he said.

 

The PM said Somnath reminds us that no nation can remain strong unless it is connected to its roots.

 

On the occasion, Modi also released a special stamp on the completion of 75 years of the inauguration of the restored Somnath temple, located in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district.

 

“Invaders attempted to erase the splendour of the Somnath temple; this temple was demolished time and again, yet it kept being rebuilt,” he said.

 

Modi said Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and India’s first President Dr Rajendra Prasad made immense efforts to rebuild the temple, but faced opposition from then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. 

 

“We must move forward by embracing both development and heritage in tandem. The neglect of our cultural centres has, in fact, served as an impediment to our progress,” he noted.