From Sunil Jaglan—the man behind ‘Selfie with Daughter’ campaign—to Babita Rajput, the water warrior in Bundelkhand region, more than 100 prominent individuals mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 'Mann ki Baat' addresses are being invited for Republic Day 2024. These individuals were felicitated during 'Mann ki Baat@100' conclave organised in New Delhi in April last year. Prasar Bharati, the coordinating agency, is in the process of individually extending the invitations to these individuals who have contributed in their own way to the environment, women empowerment, social service and entrepreneurship, among other things.
Ramveer Tanwar, who left his engineering job to clean ponds in Uttar Pradesh, told THE WEEK, “I received a call few days ago from Prasar Bharati asking me to keep myself available for Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi.
“We were told that arrangements would be made for us to stay in Lutyens Delhi.” Tanwar, referred as the pond man, was mentioned in 'Mann ki Baat' in 2021 for his outstanding work in the direction of reviving ponds in and around Uttar Pradesh.
In the 100th episode of 'Mann ki Baat', Modi also spoke to some people who featured in the earlier broadcast for their initiatives. These include Vijayashanti Devi, who weaves clothes from lotus fibre, in Manipur. Her eco-friendly idea has inspired many, and about 30 women have joined her. The work of Pradeep Sangwan, who runs the 'Healing Himalayas' campaign, was also appreciated during one of the episodes. His team collects around five tonnes of garbage daily from different locations to keep the surroundings clean. Manzoor Ahmed, who runs a manufacturing unit of pencils in Jammu and Kashmir's Oukhoo village in Pulwama district, providing jobs to over 200 people, also found mention in the monthly broadcast. The village is now called as the "pencil village of India".
“It is a matter of pride for us to be recognised by the Prime Minister of our country for whatever work we are dedicatedly doing,” said Tanwar, who is looking forward to attending the historic 75th Republic Day commemoration in 2024 as a special invitee.