Need to defeat forces opposing Somnath temple reconstruction: PM Narendra Modi

Somnath, Jan 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the forces that had opposed the reconstruction of the Somnath temple in Gujarat after independence were still active, and India needed to remain alert, united, and powerful to defeat them.

PM Modi said that the history of Somnath is not that of destruction and defeat but of victory and renewal.

He said that this was the cycle of time that fundamentalist invaders were now reduced to pages of history, but the Somnath temple still stands tall.

The PM was speaking at Somnath Swabhiman Parv held here to mark 1000 years since Mahmud of Ghazni’s invasion of the Somnath temple in the year 1026.

He said that despite multiple repeated attempts for its destruction over centuries, the Somnath temple stands today as a powerful symbol of resilience, faith, and national pride, owing to the collective resolve and efforts to restore it to its ancient glory.

PM Modi said, “The true history of hatred, atrocity, and terror was concealed from us and we were taught that the attack was an attempt to loot the temple.”

He said that after independence, when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel took the oath of rebuilding the Somnath temple, his path was obstructed.

“Those involved in appeasement knelt before such people with extremist mindset, those forces are still present between us who tried to obstruct the rebuilding of the Somnath temple. We need to remain alert, united, and powerful to defeat such forces,” the PM said. “Somnath’s tale is the story of India; foreign invaders tried to destroy India many times, like this temple. The invaders thought that they had won by destroying the temple, but after 1000 years, the flag of Somnath is still flying high.”

He said that this struggle of 1000 years had no parallel in world history.