Sikh community is strong link in India's relations with other countries: PM Modi

New Delhi, Apr 29: Asserting that the new India is leaving its mark on the whole world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Sikh community has been a strong link in relations between India and other countries. Addressing a Sikh delegation at his residence, he said the entire country feels grateful to Sikhs for their contributions in the freedom struggle as well as in the post-independence era.

The prime minister hosted the Sikh delegation which included people from different walks of life. Modi said the gurus inspired people and the Sikh tradition is indeed a living tradition of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat'. The new India is touching new dimensions and leaving its mark on the whole world, Modi said, adding that the period of the coronavirus pandemic is the biggest example of this.

"At the beginning of the pandemic, people of an old mindset were expressing concerns about India but now people are giving examples of the country," he said. "Earlier it was being said that with such a large population, from where will India get the vaccine, how will people's lives be saved? But today India has emerged as the manufacturer of the biggest protective shield of vaccines," the prime minister said.

Lauding the Indian diaspora across the globe, Modi said he has always considered them as the country's ambassadors. "All of you who are out of India are the loud voice of 'Maa Bharati', its lofty identity," he said. The people of India went to different parts of the world without any resources and achieved success through their labour, he said. This is the spirit of the new India, he added.

Modi also said that going to gurudwaras, spending time in service, getting langar, and staying at the homes of Sikh families have been a part of his life. "The feet of Sikh sants from time to time keep falling in the prime minister's residence here. I keep getting the good fortune of their company," he said.

Modi has met members of the Sikh community at frequent intervals. He had recently delivered an address from the Red Fort at an event to mark the birth anniversary of ninth Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur. PTI