Gujarat: People's creative placards highlight Somnath's saga as symbol of India's identity

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], January 11 (ANI): At the Shaurya Sabha held during the Somnath Swabhiman Parv on Sunday, people displayed placards carrying messages such as Eternal and Indestructible Somnath (Sashwat ane Avinashi Somnath), Undivided India - Undivided Somnath, thereby bringing to light the saga of Somnath as a symbol of India's identity.
The placards reflected the aspirations of modern India, according to a release.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision was prominently highlighted, showcasing inspiring messages displayed. The attendees at the Shaurya Sabha welcomed the arrival of PM Modi by holding placards.
Addressing a massive gathering after the culmination of the Shaurya Yatra, PM Modi hit out at "people with a colonial mindset" in post-Independence historical narratives, attempting to "erase history" of India's glorious past.
PM asserted that some historians and politicians tried to distort accounts of historical invasions in textbooks, where "religious invasion was labelled as loot".
"Unfortunately, after independence, people with a colonial mindset tried to get rid of our glorious past. They tried all they could to erase history. Those who fought for the Somnath Temple were not given their due recognition and importance. Some historians and politicians even tried to whitewash the history of these invaders. Religious invasion was labelled as loot. We have been taught in our textbooks that the Somnath Temple was demolished to loot its treasures. The cruel history of hate, atrocities and terror was hidden from us," PM Modi said.
The PM said that after independence, when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel pledged to renovate the Somnath Temple, he was stopped from doing so. He added that objections had been raised even during President Rajendra Prasad's 1951 visit.
He further warned, saying the powers that had opposed the redevelopment back then were still active, now using hidden conspiracies instead of swords against India.
"After independence, when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel pledged the renovation of the Somnath Temple, he was stopped from doing so. Objections were raised in 1951 on the visit of then-President Rajendra Prasad to Somnath. Unfortunately, even today, the powers that opposed the redevelopment of the Somnath Temple are present and active. Swords have been replaced with hidden conspiracies against India," PM Modi said.
Prime Minister Modi participated in a 'Shaurya Yatra' at Somnath as part of a four-day national commemoration marking 1,000 years of unbroken faith and resilience since Mahmud of Ghazni's first attack on the Somnath Temple in 1026.
The 'Shaurya Yatra' is a symbolic procession organised as part of the Somnath Swabhiman Parv. It represents courage, sacrifice and the indomitable spirit that preserved Somnath through centuries of adversity.
Ghazni's first attack marked the beginning of a long period during which the temple was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt over centuries. Despite this, Somnath never ceased to exist in the collective consciousness of the people. The cycle of the temple's devastation and revival is unparalleled in world history. It demonstrated that Somnath was never merely a stone structure, but a living embodiment of belief, identity, and civilisational pride.
On Kartak Sud 1, Diwali day, November 12, 1947, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel visited the ruins of Somnath and expressed his resolve to rebuild the temple, viewing its restoration as essential to reviving India's cultural confidence. The reconstruction, carried out with public participation, culminated in the consecration of the present temple on May 11, 1951, in the presence of then-President Rajendra Prasad. (ANI)