Service, not power, at centre of good governance, PM Modi says; releases book on works of M M Malaviya

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said his government follows the principle of good governance that has got public service, not power, at its centre.

Releasing the first series of 11 volumes of collected works of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya at a function here, Modi said his government is setting up several institutions committed towards nation-building, just like 'nation first' was supreme for Mahamana, a title often used for the Banaras Hindu University founder.

The prime minister said several institutions of national and international importance being set up today give a new direction not only to India of the 21st century, but the entire world.

He said the country is indebted to the great personalities who made invalueable contributions to the nation and he was privileged to release a book of Malaviya's works.

"Malaviya Ji dedicated to India, a big number of institutions of nation-building. We are glad to note that today, Bharat is again creating the nation-building institutions at unprecedented levels," Modi said.

"We have made a new start by promoting Indian languages in higher education," Modi said.

The function, which was also attended by Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur and Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, among other dignitaries, was held on the occasion of the 162nd birth anniversary of Malaviya.

The bilingual (English and Hindi) work in 11 volumes, spread across about 4,000 pages, is a collection of the writings and speeches of Malaviya, collected from every part of the country.

These volumes comprise his unpublished letters, articles and speeches, including memorandums; the editorial content of Hindi weekly 'Abhyudaya' started by him in 1907; articles, pamphlets and booklets written by him from time to time.

It also contains his speeches given in the Legislative Council of the United Provinces of Agra and Awadh between 1903 and 1910; statements given before the Royal Commission; speeches given during the presentation of bills in the Imperial Legislative Council between 1910 and 1920.

There are also letters, articles and speeches written before and after the establishment of Banaras Hindu University; and a diary written by him between 1923 and 1925.

The work of researching and compiling the documents written and spoken by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was undertaken by the Mahamana Malaviya Mission, an institution devoted to propagating the ideals and values of Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya.

A dedicated team of the Mission, led by eminent journalist Shri Ram Bahadur Rai, has worked on Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya's original literature without altering the language and text. The publication of these books has been done by the Publications Division under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.