77th anniversary of Poonch link-up with India celebrated
The 77th link-up anniversary of Poonch with the rest of India was on Friday celebrated by the Army and civilian population of the border region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly ‘ Maan Ki Baat’ broadcast over All India Radio on Sunday said India’s diplomatic channel of soft power had enabled it to successfully bring back stolen idols representing the country’s ancient heritage and faith from across the world.
“Earlier, in the past, many idols which were stolen from India found their way to various countries of the world and sold there. It’s our responsibility to bring these idols back to the country,” the Prime Minister said in the 86th edition of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ broadcast to the nation.
The Prime minister pointed out how countries like the United States, Holland, Italy, and Canada understood India’s concerns about its stolen heritage and helped in bringing back about 200 idols to the country through the government’s numerous efforts since 2014.
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In this context, Prime Minister Modi referred to India’s recent success in bringing back the idol of over 1000 years old ‘Avaloketeshwar Padmapani’ from Italy earlier in February this year. He said the ‘priceless’ idol was stolen from Kundalpur temple in Bihar a few years ago.
Similarly, he said that through continuous efforts, the country had managed to get back 600-700 year old Anjannayer Lord Hanuman’s idol from Australia. The idol was stolen from Vellur in Tamil Nadu.
Prime Minister Modi said the government efforts to bring back these stolen idols had instilled a sense of fear among those engaged in their theft. He said the countries where these stolen idols were smuggled in had now realized the importance of diplomatic channels of soft power in improving their relations with India.
He said the sentiments of people were attached to these idols. Returning these idols back to India would further strengthen people-to-people relations between India and other countries of the world, the Prime Minister said.
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