New Delhi: All the tourism in the world together cannot match the numbers of those attending the Maha Kumbh, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Tuesday.
Speaking at an event organised by Panchjanya, a magazine associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Chouhan also said the sun of India’s good fortune will rise again as the Ram temple has been built again.
Asked about the ongoing Maha Kumbh, the culture minister said the economic aspect of Kumbh gets overlooked. He cited examples of the heavy tourist flow at other religious destinations in the country.
“We talk about the religious and social aspects of the Kumbh but perhaps no one has imagined the economic aspect of the Kumbh,” Shekhawat said.
He quoted figures that say four crore tourists visit France, 4.5 crore tourists visit Thailand, 2-2.5 crore tourists visit Dubai but only 1.30 crore tourists visit India.
“But they don’t see that 45 crore people are participating in the Kumbh alone. Tourism of the whole world put together cannot match the Maha Kumbh,” the culture minister said.
He said if the religious places are taken into consideration, 4.5 crore people visit every year to visit Mahakal in Ujjain, they are also tourists but were never formalised and counted that economy.
“If 45 crore people are coming to the Kumbh, imagine how big is its contribution to the economy. We never tried to highlight this at the global stage. This time, we are expecting that 15-20 lakh international visitors will participate in Kumbh,” he said.
Shekhawat said Kumbh is an opportunity for the world to see the grandness of India.
The minister also said while the people of India were never far from their cultural roots, earlier regimes did not take pride in it. A cultural renaissance is dawning under the current government, he added.
He said around 450-500 years ago, when Babur’s general demolished the Ram temple, the sun of India’s good fortune sank with it. This 500-year journey has come to an end and since the day Ram temple has been consecrated, the sun of our culture and good fortune has risen again, Shekhawat said.
“You can see, worldwide the way India’s Yoga, Ayurveda, lifestyle and family values are being accepted, this will take India to the top,” he said.
Maha Kumbh, the world’s largest gathering, began on Monday with 1.5 crore people taking a dip in the Sangam at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.
More than 40 crore people, including many from abroad, are expected over 45 days in the Mela being held after 12 years.
