Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Thursday, 18 June 2026, credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership over the past 12 years with establishing that development and heritage are complementary rather than contradictory, citing landmark projects at Ayodhya, Varanasi, and Kedarnath as proof of this governing philosophy.

Context

Shekhawat's post, tagged #12YearsOfVikasBhiVirasatBhi, was shared in Hindi on the occasion marking 12 years of the Modi government's cultural agenda. He wrote: 'विकास और विरासत एक-दूसरे के विरोधी नहीं, बल्कि पूरक हैं' — 'development and heritage are not opposites but complements of each other.' The minister framed the past decade-plus as a period in which India 'preserved its cultural roots while establishing new milestones of modern development.'

The post enumerates five flagship undertakings: restoring Ayodhya's identity, the grand expansion of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham, the reconstruction of Kedarnath, the large-scale organisation of Mahakumbh, and the repatriation of ancient Indian artefacts from across the world. Shekhawat said these efforts have 'awakened a new pride in crores of Indians towards their culture and civilisation.'

Policy Backdrop

The projects cited by Shekhawat sit within a broader policy framework the central government has pursued since 2014. The PRASAD scheme (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive), launched in 2014–15, directed infrastructure spending to major pilgrimage centres nationwide. The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor was inaugurated in 2021, substantially expanding the temple precinct in Varanasi and improving pilgrim access.

The Ram Temple at Ayodhya was built following the Supreme Court's 2019 judgment, with the government facilitating the project thereafter. Kedarnath, devastated by the 2013 floods, was rebuilt with central support. The Swadesh Darshan scheme and its successor Swadesh Darshan 2.0 have further knitted religious and heritage sites into integrated tourism circuits.

Shekhawat quoted what he described as Modi's core conviction: 'जो राष्ट्र अपनी पहचान को भूल जाता है, उसका विकास पूर्णता नहीं प्राप्त करता' — 'a nation that forgets its identity cannot achieve complete development.' He argued this philosophy has simultaneously strengthened national identity and given 'new momentum to tourism, employment, and local economies.'

Stakeholders and Impact

The minister's framing directly links heritage investment to economic outcomes, pointing to gains for pilgrims and tourists, workers in the hospitality and handicrafts sectors, and local economies around major religious sites. Large-scale events such as Mahakumbh have historically generated significant short-term economic activity for host cities and surrounding regions.

Diplomatic efforts to secure the return of antiquities from overseas collections have added a foreign-policy dimension to the cultural agenda, reinforcing the government's narrative that India is asserting its civilisational identity on the global stage. Shekhawat's post concluded: 'Today India is introducing its civilisation, culture, and traditions to the world with confidence.'

What's Next

The government is expected to expand heritage tourism infrastructure under Swadesh Darshan 2.0, with additional spiritual circuits in the pipeline. Preparations for the next Mahakumbh cycle will also test the administration's capacity to scale up the organisational model used in recent editions. The 'Vikas Bhi, Virasat Bhi' slogan — 'both development and heritage' — is likely to remain a central message in the BJP's cultural-political communications as the government moves into the second half of its current term.