Guard youth from anti-human ideologies: PM to creative artistes
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said creative artistes carried the burden of social responsibility, even as he urged them to protect the youth from harmful and divisive anti-human ideologies.
Addressing the first-of-its-kind World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) at the Jio World Centre, Mumbai, today, the PM said, “With creativity comes responsibility.”
He added that inability to protect youngsters from negative, inhuman tendencies would prove lethal for society. Speaking in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, Modi noted that India’s journey on the road to Viksit Bharat had just begun and invited domestic and global creators to treat India as their content playground.
He said India was emerging as a global hub for film production, digital content, gaming, fashion, music and live concerts.
This was the third meeting key to Indian economic growth which the PM addressed within two days. Yesterday, he chaired the Union Cabinet and PRAGATI meetings to approve and review major infra projects, moments after holding the second meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security.
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This was a political message that the military was capable of giving a befitting national response to the Pahalgam attack, while the political leadership concentrated on major national projects.
The PM noted that OTT space had grown tenfold in a decade and added that extra efforts were needed to nurture human sensitivities in a technology-driven age. He said current times were all about “micro screens but mega messaging”.
“The creative world alone can sustain human compassion. We do not want to make robots out of humans. We have to nourish human sensitivity, emotional depth and intellectual richness. This richness won’t come from mounds of information or technology. For this we will have to invest in music and the arts which have for years preserved human sensitivities,” the PM said in the presence of top global creators, Indian actors, composers, singers and industrialists.
The Indian entertainment industry is worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore annually.
Inviting world leaders to create in India, the PM delivered four messages at the summit. “To content creators, make Bharat your content playground, dream big and tell your stories. To investors, invest not just in platforms, but in people. To the youth of India, tell one billion untold stories to the world,” said the PM.
Earlier, the PM said India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat has just begun. “India is moving towards becoming the third largest economy in the world. India ranks number one in fintech adoption rate. India is the second largest mobile manufacturer. India has the third largest startup ecosystem in the world. This is the right time to create in India,” he said exuding confidence in the Indian gaming and entertainment sector.
Meanwhile, superstar Rajinikanth, who attended the summit, described the Pahalgam terror attack as barbaric and merciless, and said the PM was a “fighter who would bring peace to J&K”. The actor said many people had told him the government might postpone the event as it could invite needless criticism for its focus on entertainment. “But because of my confidence in the PM, I was sure the event would go on,” he said.
India