By victor dasgupta | Updated: January 11, 2026 9:58 AM IST
Addressing a gathering during the "Somnath Swabhiman Parv", PM Modi said: " Those present here, your ancestors, our ancestors, bet their lives for their faith, for their belief, for Mahadev - they sacrificed everything they had".
“A thousand years back, the invaders thought they had defeated us, but today, even after 1000 years, the flag hoisting at Somnath Mahadev Mandir shows the power of India and its capabilities to the entire world," PM Modi said.
The attack on the Somnath temple marked the beginning of a long period during which the temple was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt over centuries.
"Somnath never ceased to exist in the collective consciousness of the people. The cycle of the temple's devastation and revival is unparalleled in world history," says PM Modi.
PM Modi claimed that the "true history of hatred, atrocity and terror was hidden".
Without taking names, PM Modi attacked the Congress-led government for "whitewashing the history" that encapsulates the multiple attacks by Mughal invaders on the temple located at Gujarat's coast.
"If Somnath was attacked for wealth, then the first attack was enough, but it was attacked repeatedly, and its deity was desecrated," PM Modi said.
"The True history of hatred, atrocity and terror was hidden from us; we were taught that the attack was attempt to loot the Somnath temple. Those involved in appeasement knelt before such religious extremism," PM Modi said.
Before his address, PM Modi offered prayers at the Somnath Temple after completing the Shaurya Yatra in the temple town.
During PM Modi visit, the Prime Minister paid floral tributes to the statues of Veer Hamirji Gohil and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.