PM Modi taking forward Shivaji Maharaj’s work of rebuilding Temples destroyed by ‘foreign invaders’: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday hailed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for rebuilding the temples destroyed during the rule of Mughals and other foreign invaders and said the restoration work that continued after the Maratha warrior king is being taken forward by Prime Minister Narendra ModiHe also said that Chhatrapati Shivajis life was all about revolting against the atrocities and the fight for swaraj selfrule started by him continues still todayShah was speaking after inaugurating the first phase of Shivsrushti a theme park based on the life of Shivaji Maharaj at NarheAmbegaon in Pune on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the founder of the Maratha empire Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis were also present on the occasionThe project which is spread over 21 acres of land was conceptualised by Padma Vibhushan awardee Shivshahir Babasaheb Purandare who formed the Maharaja Chhatrapati Pratishthan for its executionAlso read Shivaji Jayanti 2023 Why does Maharashtra celebrate Shivajis birthday twice every yearSeveral temples were destroyed during the rule of Mughals and other foreign invaders Last week Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant did the redevelopment of Saptakoteshwar temple which was reconstructed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Similarly the temples in south India were also redeveloped by the Maratha warrior king Shivaji Maharaj constructed grand gates in front of the temples and tried to restore these structures Shah saidAfter Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj this tradition of restoration of temples was continued by Bajirao Peshva Nanasaheb Peshve Madhavrao Peshve and lastly Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Today our Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also taking that work ahead as Ram Mandir is being built the Kashi Vishwanath corridor has also been constructed and Somnath temple is being decorated with gold The BJP government and PM Modi are redeveloping several temples he saidShah said that Shivaji Maharaj has a big contribution in shaping the history of IndiaHe added that while researching on the great Maratha ruler he came across a statement by Maharashtras first chief minister Yashwantrao ChavanHad there been no Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj the entire world knows what would have been the fate of India There would not have been a need to go very far to find the Pakistan border Perhaps the border could have been found outside your and my house Shah said quoting ChavanI would like to say that Shivaji Maharajs life was not about acquiring power His life was all about revolting against the atrocities done for more than 100 years His life was about fighting for swadharma and eulogising the swabhasha His life was all about establishing swaraj he saidHe added that by establishing swaraj he had sent a message to the world that no one can unleash atrocities on IndiaThis thought of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was relevant till 1857 After him this ideology was later taken forward by Chhatrapati Sambhaji Chhatrapati Rajaram Chhatrapati Shahu and later Peshvas from 1713 to 1818 he saidThe journey of this swaraj spread from Attock to Cuttack from Gujarat to Bengal and gave a new spark to the entire country The fight for swaraj started by Shivaji Maharaj is still going on today His insistence on swaraj swadharma and swabhasha used to reflect on every aspect and that is why his rajmudra royal seal was made in Sanskrit he saidShah added that it was Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who created the first dictionary of administrative wordsShahs said that after swaraj Shivaji Maharaj worked towards suraaj good governanceHe introduced the concept of ashtapradhan mandal council of eight ministersShah hailed the late Babasaheb Purandare for dedicating his life to spread the glorious deeds of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj among the massesHad such a person not dedicated his life to Shivaji Maharaj the number of people knowing about Shivaji Maharaj would have been less he saidTalking about the Shivsrushti he said this will be Asias largest theme park which has a perfect blend of historical facts and technology Work will not stop on the project I am confident that the project will be completed on time he said