Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday peppered his address with Gen Z-friendly phrases such as “OG” and brought in a reference to the popular film ‘Dhurandhar’ as he returned to Delhi University’s Shri Ram College of Commerce, 13 years after his last speech there gained immense traction.
While “OG” (original gangster) is popular with Gen Z and is used to describe someone who is incredibly exceptional, authentic, or old-school, “Dhurandhar” means a stalwart.
“SRCC’s alumni have been very special… they took the glory of the college to the global level. If I put it in your language, the alumni here are the OGs,” PM Modi said in his address at the college’s centenary celebrations.
While praising the alumni, PM Modi further said, “Dhurandhar na ho lekin dhoom machai hei (They may not be the stalwarts, but they have made a splash)”.
PM Modi had visited SRCC in 2013 as the Gujarat chief minister, and his address to the students gained a lot of traction, especially in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in which he was the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.
Prime Minister said his 2013 speech at SRCC had “become a wave”, and even today, 13-14 years later, the impact of that address remains intact.
“India in 2013 was dealing with a series of challenges, including terror attacks, inflation and corruption. Growth was at its lowest and inflation was at the peak,” he said, adding that scams and corruption were rampant.
PM also recalled how India was described internationally at the time, saying that the country was being called a “fragile Five”, while contrasting India’s position in 2013 with its standing today.
“In 2013, when I came to SRCC, I presented a vision. Whatever I said back then was my conviction. I have always lived by those words. Dedicating my life to the nation was an emotion that took the form of words. I gave the example of a glass filled with water. Some people see the glass as half full. Some say it is half empty.
“I said there are people who can see the glass as fully filled, half with water and half with air. It was a time when the country was lacking hope. So I said, I see the glass as fully filled,” PM Modi said.
-PTI
