Meaning of Abhinandan Will Change Now: PM Modi on Pilot’s Return

Meaning of Abhinandan will change now: PM Modi

PM Modi said that the meaning of the word ‘Abhinandan’, which means welcome, will change. 

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

'Abhinandan’ used to mean ‘congratulations’, but its meaning will change now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, 2 March, referring to the IAF pilot released by Pakistan the day before, reported PTI.

The world takes note of what India does and the nation has the power to "change dictionary meanings", Modi said at a housing ministry event. He said the country has to move ahead with "valour".

His remarks came a day after IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was handed over to India by Pakistan after being in captivity for almost three days. He was captured on 27 February by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MiG-21 was shot down.

“Take it for fact, the world watches carefully what India does... The country has the strength to change the meaning of words in the dictionary. Abhinandan once used to mean congratulations in English. And now the meaning of Abhinandan will change. This is the strength of this country.”

PM Narendra Modi

Soon after the pilot was released, Modi had tweeted, “The nation is proud of your exemplary courage”.

Wing Commander Varthaman returned to India on Friday night, 1 March, but the handover was delayed for hours. The public could finally see footage of him crossing over around 9 pm. The ‘edited’ video of Abhinandan, released and then taken down by the Pakistan government hours before his release, procedural delays and other factors have been attributed to the delay in his return.

Back home, Abhinandan is all set to undergo a physiological as well as a psychological check-up and is going to be debriefed.

According to an official who was part of the team that received him, Abhinandan is believed to have said that it felt “good to be back in my country," as he set foot on Indian soil after spending nearly three days in captivity in Pakistan.

The captivity of the pilot and his subsequent return had dominated news headlines in the country as the public prayed for his return. Hastags like #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan and #BringBackAbhinandan had gone viral in the hours and days ahead of his return.

Pakistan PM had earlier announced his release as a “gesture of peace”, inspiring reports of Khan’s diplomacy and statesmanship in negotiating a truce between the warring neighbours. Modi’s relative silence and lack of publicly pro-active behaviour are said to have tilted the scales in Pakistan’s favour, in settling the issue.

(With inputs from PTI)