'Have come here as a family member': PM Modi at Bohra community event | SEE PHOTOS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 10, 2023 inaugurated Dawoodi Bohra community’s Arabic Academy at Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah (The Saifee Academy) in Mumbai.

Following the opening, Modi was seen touring the campus with His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the current leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community throughout the world and the 53rd al-Dai al-Mutlaq, one of the powerful groups in the nation's financial centre.

"I'm here as a part of the family, not as the prime minister. Going to see you is like going to see my family. Don't call me PM or CM, please," he said while addressing the community members.

“Our association goes a long way. Four generations of Syedna sahab’s family have blessed me, and he (His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin) has fulfilled a 150-year-old dream by setting up this institute in Mumbai (outside Gujarat),” the Prime Minister said.

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Modi praised the community's involvement in social welfare programmes, saying it ranged from the fight against starvation to the cause of water in Gujarat.

Additionally, he recalled how Dr. Syedna taught at the age of 99 and discussed his deep ties to the Gujarati community.

According to him, the nation is moving Amrit Kaal's recommendations ahead via reforms like the new National Education Policy. PM Modi also emphasised the fresh chances being provided for the modernization of women's and girls' educational opportunities.

Modi emphasised the value of regional languages in the educational system and announced that courses in engineering and medicine can now be pursued in regional tongues.

The institution seeks to preserve the community's literary and educational heritage, and the new centre will teach Arabic.

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The event was a part of PM Modi's second visit to the city in less than a month, during which he earlier in the day unveiled a number of development projects. The PM officially opened and laid the cornerstone for more than 38,000 crore worth of developments in the financial capital on January 19.

Given the forthcoming elections for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the wealthiest local body in India, the visit of the Prime Minister gains significance.

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