Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday invoked Ramayana and asked his countrymen to keep a vigil against terror and fight it the way Jatayu fought Ravana to try rescue Sita from the demon.
“Who was the first to stand against terrorism? Was he a warrior? Ramayana is witness that Jatayu was the first to fight against terrorism. He fought for a woman’s honour,” Modi said in his Vijayadashmi address at Lucknow’s Aishbagh Ramleela ground.
“In 1992-93, when I was talking to the US secretary of state about growing terrorism in the country, he had said it was a law and order problem and not terror. But post 26/11, the world knows what terror is,” he said.
“Now no one can believe that they are safe against terror because it knows no boundaries and makes no distinction,” he said in his address at the historic Aishbagh ground in Lucknow.
He said it was heartrending to see innocents dying at the hands of terrorists and all humanitarian forces must unite to end this menace, without which there could be no hope for a better future.
“Today terror is the theme. Terror is humanity’s evil. Lord Ram represents humanity and the higher values of society, “ he said at the historic ground where it is said that Ram Leela is being staged for the last 650 years, dating back to days of Goswami Tulsidas.
In a veiled reference to Pakistan, the Prime Minister said that countries which support terrorism should not be spared.
“The world needs to come together against terror and destroy from the root those who spread terror and those who give shelter to terror,” he added.
Modi also noted that some years ago, the world did not believe that India was suffering from terrorism.
