New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually reviewed the progress of the National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal in Gujarat on Tuesday and said that the government will bring back the glory of Dholavira and Lothal.

In his address via video conferencing, PM Modi said, "We'll bring back the glory of Dholavira and Lothal. We're seeing rapid progress in this mission. Lothal was not only a major trading centre of the Indus Valley Civilisation, but it was also a symbol of India's maritime power and prosperity. The way in which Lothal was developed as a port city thousands of years ago still amazes experts."

"An industry for the construction of ships used to be present thousands of years ago in Kutch. Big ships made in India were sold all over the world, and this indifference towards heritage did a great loss to the country. This situation needs to change," he added.

The Prime Minister cited the archaeological evidence and stated that India was a maritime power even thousands of years ago. He stressed that India was also a major part of major sea trade routes.

"We have archaeological evidence proving that even thousands of years ago, India was a maritime power and part of major sea trade routes... The heritage complex being built in Lothal will be a great source of information for the common man about India's rich maritime history spanning centuries," he said.

"The same splendour, the same power of thousands of years ago is being rekindled on this earth. I am sure it will become a huge centre of attraction for tourists from all over the world. This complex is being developed to welcome thousands of tourists a day," PM Modi added.

The Prime Minister recalled the incidents of history and said India had relations with all the civilisations of the world and the country's maritime power had a big role to play in this. "There are numerous stories of our history which we were made to forget. Ways were not explored to preserve them and pass them on to the next generations. We could have learnt so much from those incidents of history. India's maritime heritage is one such subject which is discussed very little," he said.

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"We had relations with all the civilisations of the world earlier. Our maritime power had a big role to play in this. The shackles of colonialism impeded the maritime prowess We forgot that we have a great heritage like Lothal and Dholavira which were famous for maritime trade even thousands of years ago," the Prime Minister added.