From urging Indians to put out water for thirsty birds during arid summers, especially in North India, to bringing to light the gift of a mango sapling to wedding guests in a village near Pune, with its message of environmental conservation, the vignettes highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly radio broadcast programme ‘Mann ki Baat’ have now acquired a book form.
“Igniting Collective Goodness: Mann ki Baat @100” published by BlueKraft Digital Foundation, puts together many of the interventions by civil society, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s own experiences shared with listeners into a single volume. The book is likely to be launched at the end of October or the early part of November in New Delhi.
BlueKraft was also the publishing house behind an earlier book on Prime Minister Modi titled “Modi@20: Dreams meet Delivery” as he completed 20 years in public office, both as Chief Minister of Gujarat and Prime Minister of India, with contributions to the book by Union Minister Amit Shah, Aadhar founder Nandan Nilekani and badminton champion P.V. Sindhu.
The book has a foreword by Prime Minister Modi himself, and he writes that “Mann ki baat is about guno ki pooja or worshipping the collective goodness of people” and that the programme had become a “platform for the voice of our nation, particularly those from the grassroots, whose stories of perseverance, courage and innovation continue to inspire.”
Mann ki baat was launched as a monthly radio broadcast by Prime Minister Modi after taking office as Prime Minister, with the first episode aired on All India Radio on October 3, 2014. The most recent episode will be broadcast on October 29, 2023, and shall be the programme’s 106th episode. The book compiles people’s initiatives highlighted in the broadcasts in the 100 episodes broadcast thus far.
From June 2, 2017, the radio broadcast was made available in several regional dialects as well.
