Ashish Ranjan
Indian Americans commemorated 100 episodes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship radio program “Mann Ki Baat” on Sunday.External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar decided to watch the programme live with the Indian diaspora in New Jersey at 1.30 a.m. (local time) on Sunday, praising it as “an emotional connect” between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian people.
Jaishankar told members of the diaspora, “If he had told you 10 years ago that at 2:10 a.m., everyone would be gathered at some location and the foreign minister of India would be with you, listening to the prime minister of India, none of you would have believed me.”
“You must realize that PM Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ has a tremendous impact not because the medium is 100 years old, but rather because there is an emotional connection between PM Modi and the people of India,” Jaishankar remarked.India’s Ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and the Consul General of India in New York, Randhir Jaiswal, also attended the ceremony and listened to Prime Minister Modi together.
In addition to the senior Indian diplomats, the event was also attended by Indian-American legislators Senator Kevin Thomas, Assemblywoman Jenniffer Rajkumar, and Edison (city) Mayor Sam Joshi.Jaishankar, who is here after concluding his official visit to Guyana, Panama, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic, made these remarks early on Sunday morning while addressing a community function attended by members of the Indian community.
PM Modi’s address was also broadcast live at the Indian Embassy in Washington, and all five U.S. consulates, including Silicon Valley, tuned in to hear it.TV Nagendra Prasad, Indian Consul General in San Francisco, tweeted on Sunday, “In #Siliconvalley, hundreds congregated to hear Hon’ble @narendramodi’s #MannKiBaatAt10 late-night speech at @FalconXUS hall. The event was covered by @DiyaTV, @tvasianetwork, @yoindiatv, @IndiaPost_News, and others. @CGISFO @AkashvaniAIR @MIB_India @MEAIndia”
The 30-minute program was also broadcast in the small hours at the United Nations headquarters in New York.Sunday, the Indian Permanent Mission to the United Nations tweeted, “A single link! Special moments from the Trusteeship Council at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where #MannKiAtBaat100 went LIVE, inspiring and motivating all.”
In addition, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) employees residing in the United States gathered in various locations to listen to the prime minister’s broadcast.In his recorded address commemorating the 100th episode of the programme, Prime Minister Modi stated that the platform had allowed him to “connect with the common man.”
Intense FM, a local radio station based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, also broadcast the 100th episode of Mann ki Baat later that day.In the 100th episode of his monthly radio broadcast, PM Modi spoke with UNESCO General Director Audrey Azoulay on Sunday.
The Director-General of UNESCO not only congratulated the compatriots on the 100th episode of “Mann Ki Baat,” but also inquired about education and cultural preservation in India.
“I have received another special message regarding ‘Mann Ki Baat’ from Audrey Azoulay, director general of the UNESCO. During his 100th Mann Ki Baat address, PM Modi remarked, “She has wished all of her countrymen a wonderful 100th episode.”
Audrey Azoulay, a French civil servant and politician, has served as the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 2017, becoming the organization’s second female chief.
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The UNESCO Director-General addressed PM Modi during his radio broadcast, saying, “Dear Prime Minister, on behalf of UNESCO, I appreciate you for the opportunity to participate in the hundredth episode of the Mann Ki Baat radio program. India and UNESCO share a lengthy history. We have very robust partnerships in all of our mandated areas, including education, science, culture, and information.
