New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday invoked the life of Lord Ram to urge Indians to face challenges through self-belief and hard work, addressing the Dussehra celebrations at the Utsav Ground in IP Extension in East Delhi, IANS reported. The event was organised by the Shri Ramlila Committee Indraprastha, and the Prime Minister performed traditional rituals before the symbolic burning of the Ravana effigy.

"No matter how big the crisis or how difficult the challenge, we must not sit back and depend on others. We must recognise our own strength, trust our resources, turn our resolve into strength and find solutions through our hard work," Modi said, according to IANS. Lord Ram showed that difficulties cannot halt one's journey, he added, and the same mantra must guide the nation today.

Linking the teaching to contemporary national goals, the Prime Minister said: "Today, we must move forward with the same mantra. We have the goal of building a developed India and achieving self-reliance." In remarks carried by ANI from DD News coverage of the event, he described Ram Rajya as a system of governance free from discrimination, where justice prevails and everyone gets equal opportunities, and said the purpose of authority is not merely to rule but to ensure the welfare of the people. Serving the poor and the underprivileged, he stressed, must remain the highest priority — the principle of "Nagrik Devo Bhava".

Modi also called for identifying and defeating the enemies of "Maa Bharti" — described in the reports as forces that harm India's honour, sow division in society and nurture hatred toward its culture; he did not name any specific individual or group. On cultural heritage, he said India's cultural assets were pilfered and taken to foreign countries in the past, while 650 idols have been brought back to the country during the past 12 years, IANS reported.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister had extended written Vijayadashami greetings, wishing that the festival of victory fill every resolve with renewed strength and enrich lives with happiness, prosperity and success. India Today reported that the ceremony included the burning of the effigies of Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhakarna, including one themed around counterfeit medicines, under extensive security arrangements at the venue. Sources: IANS, ANI, DD News, India Today.