From a snow-locked border hamlet to a chief minister's official residence in Dehradun, the 138th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' on Sunday, 27 September 2026 became the centrepiece of a coordinated state-level message: Uttarakhand's remotest corners are not forgotten — and they are counting themselves in. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami listened to the programme at his official residence and immediately amplified its themes for the state.

Mana and Bagori: Two Villages That Made the National Cut

The episode's most vivid Uttarakhand moment came when Prime Minister Modi spotlighted Mana village, located in Chamoli district near the Indo-China border and described as the country's first village. According to the Chief Minister's Office post, Modi noted that the first phase of the national census in the region began with 83-year-old Purnima Rawat — an image that combined demographic duty with a quietly powerful human story.

A second border settlement also earned national mention: Bagori village in Uttarkashi district, where homestay operator Hardev Singh Rana completed his own self-enumeration digitally. CM Dhami called PM Modi's decision to hold up these frontier communities as examples 'a matter of honour' for the state, saying it reflects the digital awareness and active nation-building participation of people in Uttarakhand's border zones.

The Census as a National Duty — and a State Appeal

Modi framed census participation as every citizen's national responsibility and called for active cooperation. Dhami echoed that call directly: he urged residents of Uttarakhand to submit accurate information and treat it as a civic obligation. The digital self-enumeration component marks a significant shift from the paper-based process of the 2011 Census, India's last completed decennial count, and the border-village examples were evidently chosen to underline that the new system reaches even the most difficult terrain.

Surgical Strike Decade and the Broader Mann Ki Baat Agenda

The episode also marked ten years since the 2016 surgical strikes — the Indian Army's cross-border operation across the Line of Control carried out in September 2016 following the Uri attack. Modi used the anniversary to recall the armed forces' bravery and India's firm counter-terrorism policy. Dhami's office highlighted this alongside the programme's other themes: cleanliness, environmental protection, a drug-free youth campaign, promotion of sports talent, nutrition, local products, and the 'Vocal for Local' push.

The Chief Minister noted that issues such as cleanliness, environmental conservation, anti-narcotics efforts, and support for local products carry 'special significance' for Uttarakhand. He called on residents to internalise the Prime Minister's messages and contribute actively to the dual vision of 'Viksit Bharat aur Viksit Uttarakhand' — a Developed India and a Developed Uttarakhand.

Among those present at the official residence for the listening session were MP Mala Rajyalakshmi Shah, other elected representatives, and senior officers from the Chief Minister's Office.

If Bagori's homestay owner can file his own census form on a phone from a Himalayan border village, the argument that digital enumeration is impractical in remote India just lost its strongest exhibit.