Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 12 said a country which does not cherish its heritage has a bleak future.
Mr. Modi launched the ₹1,200 crore Gandhi Ashram Memorial masterplan at Sabarmati in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city and inaugurated the redeveloped Kochrab ashram at a function on the anniversary of the famous Dandi Yatra, or salt march, taken out by Mahatma Gandhi on March 12, 1930.
"A country which does not cherish its heritage loses its future also. The Sabarmati Ashram is not only a heritage for the country but for the entire mankind," he said.
"The Sabarmati Ashram has become a pilgrimage not only our freedom movement but also for 'Viksit Bharat' [developed India]," Mr. Modi said.
He said the government formed after independence had no mentality or political will to maintain heritage sites like the Sabarmati Ashram.
"There were two reasons - one looking at India from the foreign lens and another was appeasement politics which resulted in the ruin of our heritage," Mr. Modi said.
The PM said his government's 'vocal for local' drive is nothing but an adoption of Mahatma Gandhi's 'swadeshi' idea.
