Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that a new India can be realised with real development following in the footsteps of Lord Ram, who embraced the tribals and Adivasis. He listed many welfare schemes his government has implemented for the benefit of the two sections.

Addressing a function organised to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Indian business tycoon and eminent philanthropist late Arvind Mafatlal, at Chitrakoot in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, the prime minister lauded the late chairman of the Mafatlal Group for his undaunted spirit and dedication to the welfare of the poor, tribals and adivasis.

“I first met Arvind Bhai in Gujarat when I was very young and was working in the service of adivasis who had been affected by a severe famine,” the PM recollected.

“The way Arvind Bhai carried out his mission for the uplift of the drought-hit tribals left an indelible impression on me and ever since I feel an emotional connect with the mission and trust started by him,” Mr. Modi said while paying tributes to the late Arvind Bhai Mafatlal.

“The mission of Arvind Bhai has taught us that resources are indeed a necessity for service but dedication is the priority,” the PM asserted.

He said we all must learn from Arvind Bhai Mafatlal’s life and works.

The PM said the Mafatlal Group started the first petrochemical complex of India and it made a name in the country and globally in the field of textiles, agriculture, and many other sectors because of Arvind Mafatlal’s vision and dedication.

He said not only in the industrial sector but the Mafatlal Group holds a very distinguished position in the social sector too.

The PM said the Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya run by the Sadguru Seva Sangh Trust, which was founded by the late Arvind Mafatlal, is today one of the most renowned eye hospitals in the country and the world. The hospital that started with 12 beds now treats more than 15 lakh people annually.

“This hospital has a special connection with my Kashi too, as doctors of the hospital have performed eye surgeries of around 90,000 people, especially the old, in and around Banaras,” the PM said.

Kashi is PM Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency.

The PM said the Sadguru Seva Sangh inspired him and many other people. He hoped the new wing of the Jankikund Hospital inaugurated today would give a new life to lakhs. He pointed out that Chitrakoot is also the birthplace of Nanaji Deshmukh, who too worked tirelessly for the welfare and uplift of tribals and adivasis.

Mr. Modi said he was fortunate to have come to Chitrakoot, a land blessed by Lord Ram. He said that Lord Ram’s act of embracing the tribals and adivasis would lead us to develop a new India in the future.

During his more than two-and-a-half-hour stay in Chitrakoot this afternoon, the PM visited the Raghuveer Temple Trust, the multispecialty hospital being run by the trust, inaugurated a new wing of the hospital and also sought the blessings of Jagad Guru Rambhadracharya of the Tulsi Peeth.

MP Governor Mangu Bhai Patel, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.