It seems like the Bharat Mata ki Jai slogan has followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Saudi Arabia.
The prime minister, who is in the Saudi capital Riyadh to boost diplomatic ties between the two countries, visited the first-of-its-kind all-women IT training centre of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where hijab-clad women vied for a chance to click a selfie with Modi.
The hall reverberated with the sound of Bharat Mata ki Jai initially, but was later replaced by chants of Modi's name.
IT professionals at TCS training centre in Riyadh gathered to take selfies with PM Narendra Modi
Giving a fillip to bilateral ties, the prime minister on Saturday held wide-ranging talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz on ways to expand strategic cooperation in a range of areas such as trade, investment and counter-terrorism.
In the last seven months, this is Modi's second visit to the Gulf, a strategically important region and home to over eight million Indians. He had visited the United Arab Emirates in August last year.
The prime minister interacted with Saudi IT professionals at the training centre in the heart of Riyadh and invited them to come to India.
"For the world, it is considered to be main headline news that in Riyadh today I am me eting those IT professionals who I can say today represent the glory of Saudi Arabia," Modi said. He spent around 40 minutes at the centre and even posed for selfies.
"All of you must come to India; I assure you a very warm reception. The atmosphere I am witnessing here today has the potential to give a strong mes sage to the world," Modi said.
PM Modi with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz at the official welcome ceremony at the Royal Court, in Riyadh, Saudi Arab ia
PM Modi being ordained The Order of Abdullah by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at his palace in Riyadh
Of the 1,000 women IT professionals who work in the TCS centre in BPO operations, 85 per cent are Saudi nationals.
"In this very competitive world today, if we are to progress, all forces have to progress together and have to move ahead in it. When I say forces, we are talking not only of natural resources but also human resources. In human resources, human power plays a very important role, i f the capacity of women are built and they are linked with the development process, then development of any country is speeded exponentially," the prime minister said.
Modi stressed that in the IT profession, India had made its place in the world.
"I invite all of you to come together to India and you will see for yourself, the impact you will make on Indians," he said.
Meanwhile, terming terrorism the enemy of humanity, Modi said there was a need to de-link religion from it while arguing for a concerted global effort against terrorism.
"To defeat terrorism, all those who believe in humanity have to be united. We need to delink religion from terrorism. Terrorism should be dealt in a comprehensive manner. Segmented and partial approaches have historically proven to be at best suboptimal. There can be no distinction between 'good' or 'bad' terrorism," he said in a veiled reference to Pakistan, a close ally of Saudi Arabia.
On the other hand, in his characteristic way of striking a personal bond with world leaders, Modi gifted Abdulaziz a gold-plated replica of Kerala's Cheraman Juma Masjid, believed to be the first mosque built in India by Arab traders around 629 AD.
"PM @narendramodi gifted His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud a gold-plated replica of the Cheraman Juma Masjid in Kerala," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.
Cheraman Juma Masjid is symbolic of the active trade relations between India and Saudi Arabia since ancient times, the PMO added.
'Only those who chant slogan can stay in India'
By Mail Today Bureau in New Delhi
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi was greeted with chants of Bharat Mata Ki Jai in Riyadh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stoked the nationalism debate saying those unwilling to raise the slogan had no right to stay in the country.
"There is still a dispute o ver saying Bharat Mata Ki Jai and those opposing to say it should not have any right to stay here. Those living here should say Bharat Mata Ki Jai," Fadnavis said at a public meeting.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis also warned that Indians will not tolerate anti-nationalism
The Maharashtra chief minister also accused Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi of backing those who chant anti-national slogans.
He said the opposition parties should voice their protest against the BJP but not oppose the slogan. Fadna vis cautioned that the people of the country would not tolerate it.
The Congress pointed out that dictating terms to others was against the basic tenets of Indian democracy. Senior Congress leader PC Chako said: "Every individual has freedom. Dictating what others should do is against the basic tenets of our democracy. People have the freedom. People have the right. People have the discretion what to say and what not to say. If the RSS and BJP are going to dictate, that will only boomerang and they should have the common sense to understand this."
Defending Fadnavis, BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli accused the Congress of finding fault with nationalist slogans for political reasons.
"This is very unfortunate. Before Independence, people very proudly said Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata Ki Jai irrespective of whether they were Hindus, Muslim s or Christians. Anyone and everyone ensured that India got its Independence," he said.
"But now, 70 years later, people are finding fault with all these nationalist slogans for political reasons. There is no more love for the country," Kohli added.
With regard to the raging debate over women's entry being prohibited at some places of worship, Fadnavis said that as per Hindu culture there was no discrimination based on gender or caste, and hence it was not proper to deny women entry to any temple.
He said that in the coming times women would not be prevented from entering any temple.
References
- ^ Mail Today Bureau (www.dailymail.co.uk)
