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| - Fact Check: No, PM Modi did not say singing Bhajans could help reduce malnutrition!
India Today's fact check team found that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not say singing Bhajans could help reduce malnutrition.
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India Today Fact Check
In Episode 92 of ‘Mann Ki Baat’, PM Modi spoke about how in the Datia district of MP, Bhajan events were organised to raise awareness of malnutrition. He also spoke about other facets of these events, such as the 'Matka' program.
Can singing “bhajans” or devotional songs help reduce malnutrition? If social media is to be believed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as much on “Mann Ki Baat”, his monthly radio programme.
One such tweet claimed, “PM of India says in "Man Ki Baat" singing Bhajan can reduce Malnutrition! It happens when too much Malnutrition affects your Brain.” Ashok Swain, a professor and the HoD of the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University in Sweden, tweeted, “Modi says singing Bhajan (Hindu devotional song) can solve malnutrition problem. Thankfully Nehru is not alive to witness this stupidity!”
But did Modi really say this? AFWA’s investigation found that this was not the case. These appear to be a misreading of the PM’s words. Archived versions of such claims can be seen here and here.
AFWA Probe
We first looked at the latest episode of “Mann Ki Baat”. In Episode 92, which aired on August 28, Modi began his address by discussing Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. Around the 12-minute-mark, he spoke about malnutrition. The relevant section of his address can be read below:
"Can you believe that devotional songs can be used to fight malnutrition? In Madhya Pradesh's Datia district, under the 'Mera Bachcha Abhiyan', this was successfully done. ‘Bhajan’ events were organised in the district where teachers dubbed 'Poshan Gurus' were invited. A 'Matka' program was also organised where women brought fistfuls of grain to their Anganwadi centres and that grain was used to cook the Saturday 'Bal Bhoj'. This not only helped increase the attendance of children at Anganwadi centres, but it also helped reduce malnutrition."
This makes it clear that the PM did not say devotional songs could cure malnutrition. Rather, he spoke about how devotional songs were used as a method for increasing public awareness of malnutrition.
Following the episode, an article published by The Wire criticised Modi’s approach. It noted, “Cultural and traditional practices are not harmful. But it is in bad faith to make them part of habits that sideline tested and approved solutions to crucial welfare issues.”
The piece accused Modi of shifting the focus “to devotional music” instead of “dwelling on the role of Indigenous food cultures,” dubbing this move counterproductive. It also said that “while many of Prime Minister Modi’s other comments in his monologue are well-taken, especially about public participation, neither the need for context-specific interventions nor for evidence-based policies are served by misplaced allusions to bhajans and kirtans.”
So, while it is matter of opinion if devotional songs are an effective tool in countering malnutrition, it is more than clear that PM Modi did not ever say that singing bhajans could solve or reduce it.
(With inputs from Mayank Anandan)
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