NEW DELHI: Wishing students ahead of their examinations, PM Narendra Modi on Sunday urged them to “be a warrior, not a worrier” as he invited parents and teachers to give suggestions for ‘Pariksha pe Charcha”. Speaking in his monthly radio programme ‘Mann ki Baat’, the PM also urged the youth to think beyond traditional ways.
Noting that the next few months were of special importance for students with board and other exams approaching, Modi said, “You have to become a warrior, not a worrier, go gleefully for the examination and come back with a smile. You have to compete with yourself, not with anyone else. Get adequate sleep and be mindful of time management. Do not stop playing, for those who play are the ones that blossom. Revision and smart methods of memorisation are to be adopted, that is, overall, in these exams, you have to bring out your best.”
He said due to pressures of traditional thinking, the youth were often not able to do what they really liked.
“That is why you should never hesitate in thinking new, doing new. In the same manner Sant Ravidasji has given another important message. This message is ‘to stand on one’s own feet’. It is not fair at all that we remain dependent on others for our dreams. Things remaining the way they are… Ravidasji was never in favour of this.” Modi underlined that Aatmanirbhar Bharat was not just a government policy but a national spirit, and said the mantra of self-reliant India was reaching the villages. He called for a 100-day campaign to clean all water bodies and prepare them for rainwater harvesting before the monsoon started. Stressing the importance of collective responsibility towards water conservation, he said the jal shakti ministry would soon initiate a ‘catch the rain’ campaign with its main theme being “catch the rain where it falls, when it falls”.
The PM rued not being able to make enough efforts to learn Tamil. “In the run-up to Mann ki Baat, I was asked if there was something I missed out on during these long years as chief minister and Prime Minister. I feel, it is a regret of sorts, that I could not make enough efforts to learn the world’s oldest language, Tamil. Tamil literature is beautiful,” he said.