During his address, which included couplets from poets like Amir Khusrau, Mirza Ghalib, and Rumi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday highlighted India's rich cultural heritage, emphasising that it was a land where diverse traditions had thrived and that its soil held something unique. During a rainy evening at Sunder Nursery, the Prime Minister addressed the audience at the 25th edition of the Jahan-e-Khusrau festival.

PM Modi said, “Our Hindustan is that garden of heaven where every colour of culture has flourished. There is something special in the nature of the soil here. Perhaps that is why when the Sufi tradition came to Hindustan, it also felt as if it had connected with its own land.”

He stated that the Sufi tradition had shaped a unique identity in India, where Sufi saints not only read the Quran but also listened to the voices of the Vedas.

“When Sufi and classical music traditions merged, they gave birth to new expressions of love and devotion, evident in the qawwalis of Hazrat Khusrau, the verses of Baba Farid, the poetry of Bulleh Shah, Mir, Kabir, Rahim, and Raskhan. These saints and mystics gave a new dimension to devotion,” he expressed.

“Ras Khan, a Muslim, was a devoted follower of Bhagwan Krishna, reflecting the universal nature of love and devotion, as expressed in his poetry,” PM Modi continued.

Referring to Khusrau, the Prime Minister said that he had composed songs praising India, calling it more significant than all the major nations of his time. He also mentioned that Khusrau regarded Sanskrit as the "best language" in the world.

He quoted lines from Ghalib and said: “‘Janoona Garbe, Nafse-Khud, Tamam Ast. Ze-Kashi, Pa-Be Kashan, Neem Gaam Ast’. That is, when we wake up, we see the distance between Kashi and Kashan (a city in Iran) is only half a step. Indeed, for today’s world, where war is causing such a great loss to humanity, this message can be very useful.”

The Prime Minister stated that the Sufi tradition has helped unite the world. He reminisced about his 2015 visit to the Afghan Parliament, where he quoted Rumi.

“Eight centuries ago, Rumi was born in the Balkh province of Afghanistan. I would definitely like to repeat a Hindi translation of Rumi’s writings here because these words are equally relevant today. Rumi had said, ‘raise words, not voice, because flowers are born in the rain, not in the storm’. I remember one more thing of his, if I say it in local words, then it means, I am neither from the east nor from the west, neither I have come from the sea nor I have come from the land, there is no place for me, there is none, I do not belong to any place, that is, I am everywhere. This thought, this philosophy is not different from our feeling of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. When I represent India in different countries of the world, these thoughts give me strength,” said PM Modi.

During his speech, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the event's organiser, Rumi Foundation’s chairman, Dr Karan Singh, and executive director Muzaffar Ali, whom he called his “friend.”

The festival, which will run until Sunday, opened with a performance by the Sanjukta Sinha Dance Company from Ahmedabad, followed by Mooralala Marwarda from Kutch. As their act concluded, the Prime Minister arrived, and qawwals Nazeer and Naseer Ahmed Warsi from Hyderabad, along with folk singer Malini Awasthi, began their performance.

Despite the rain and sound disturbances, the Prime Minister watched as they performed ‘nazr e Krishna.’ He also interacted with the musicians on stage before delivering his address.