PM inaugurates Biplobi Bharat Gallery at Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata on Shaheed Diwas

New Delhi:  On the occasion of Shaheed Diwas,  Prime Minister   Narendra Modi inaugurated Biplobi Bharat Gallery at Victoria Memorial Hall, today via video conferencing. Governor of West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar and Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy were among those present on the occasion.

The Prime Minister started his address with expressing condolence for the victims of violent incident in Birbhum and expressed the hope that the state government will ensure punishment for the perpetrators of such a heinous crime.  He assured all the cooperation from the centre.

“I would also urge the people of Bengal to never forgive the perpetrators of such incidents and those who encourage such criminals”, he added.

Remembering the martyrs on the Shaheed Diwas, the Prime Minister said that the tales of sacrifice of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev inspire all of us to work tirelessly for the country.  “The legacy of our past guides our present, inspires us to build a better future. Therefore, today the country sees its history, its past, as a living source of energy”, he said.

The Prime Minister said today, New India is bringing back the heritage of the country back from abroad where ancient statues used to be smuggled  to with impunity. In the decades before 2014, said the Prime Minister, only a dozen statues could be brought to India. But in the last 7 years, he said,  this number has increased to more than 225.

The Prime Minister said that after ‘Nirbhik Subhas’, a new pearl has been added to the Kolkata’s rich heritage in the shape of Biplobi Bharat Gallery. He said that the Biplobi Bharat Gallery is a proof of the government’s commitment to preserve and enhance the heritage of West Bengal. He informed that work on renovating the iconic landmarks of the state like Victoria Memorial, iconic galleries, Metcalf House etc is almost over. “Let these symbols of our culture, civilization continue to inspire the present and future generations of India, this is a great effort in this direction”, he said.

Modi informed that a nationwide campaign is going on in India to increase heritage tourism. Heritage tourism is being given impetus through several schemes like Swadesh Darshan, he said. The Prime Minister said that with initiatives like memorial for Dandi March, renovation of Jallianwala memorial, Statue of Unity, Deendayal Samarak, Babasaheb Memorial, Bhagwan Birsa Munda Memorial, beautification of ghats in Ayodhya and Kashi or renovation of temples all over India, heritage tourism is opening new possibilities.