President Kovind unveils 120 kg gold statue of Sri Ramanuja in Hyderabad
Hyderabad: President Ram Nath Kovind unveiled the 120 kg gold statue of saint Sri Ramanuja installed on the first floor of Bhadravedi at Muchintal here on Sunday. Speaking on the occasion, the President said saints and philosophers like Sri Ramanuja created and nurtured India’s cultural identity, cultural continuity and cultural unity. “They built the concept […]
Hyderabad: President Ram Nath Kovind unveiled the 120 kg gold statue of saint Sri Ramanuja installed on the first floor of Bhadravedi at Muchintal here on Sunday.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said saints and philosophers like Sri Ramanuja created and nurtured India’s cultural identity, cultural continuity and cultural unity. “They built the concept of a nation based on cultural values. This culture-based concept of nation is different from how it was defined in the Western thought,” he said.
References to the Bhakti tradition that united India in a single-thread centuries ago were found in the Puranas, he said, adding that this tradition can be seen in the form of the Bhakti sects inspired by Sri Ramanuja, which had spread from Srirangam and Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Thus, the emotional unity of Indians was centuries old, he said.
The President said Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar had also mentioned with great respect, the egalitarian ideals of Sri Ramanuja. “Thus, our concept of equality is not derived from western countries. It developed on the cultural soil of India,” he said.
“Our eternal vision of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” is based on equality. Equality is the cornerstone of our democracy. Equality before the law, prohibition of all forms of discrimination, equality of opportunity, abolition of untouchability – all these Fundamental Rights have been enshrined in our Constitution,” said President Ramnath Kovind.
He said the nation was celebrating 75 years of Independence. One of the objectives of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ was to rediscover those values that inspired the freedom struggle.
“The young generation would come to know the sources of the various movements led by Mahatma Gandhiji, Babasaheb and others. Then they will realise how the founding fathers of our Republic connected us to our heritage as expressed in the life and work of Sri Ramanuja,” President Ram Nath Kovind said.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao received President Ram Nath Kovind at Begumpet Airport and extended his greetings.
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