Heena: A nation's development is truly felt when its citizens are built up well

The true sweetness of a nation's development is realized when the citizens living in that nation are built up in a good way, Minister of Heritage Heena Waleed said today. Speaking at the official ceremony held in K. Huraa to mark Huruví Day, Heena said that Sultan Al-Ghazi Hassan Izzuddin, or Don Bandaarain, to whom Huruví Day is attributed, was a strong figure who left exemplary lessons for the entire Maldivian people. "He is a person who demonstrated strength of character and an exemplary way of life," Heena said. Heena said that Don Bandaarain stood up in defense of the nation not for honor to be received or for the greatness of rule, and that he refused when the throne of the kingdom was offered to him. Instead, what Don Bandaarain did was to prioritize trustworthiness, remain loyal to the king, and place a royal prince in the rulership that he could have held himself, Heena said. Therefore, Heena described Don Bandaarain as an unparalleled example. "On a day like this, we must set our resolve, there are important lessons to be drawn, that is to love the nation, to be loyal to the nation, to be trustworthy, to prioritize the nation, in order to maintain these beautiful qualities and to deliver to the generations to come all the beautiful moral qualities such as these inherited from our forefathers," she said. Speaking on the policy of this government, Heena said it is based on physical development and human development, and that a major national project is being carried forward to build a generation connected to a deep feeling of love for the nation through human development. "In the midst of a nation's development and progress, the true sweetness of it is received by the citizens when that nation's human minds too are built in the best possible way," Heena said. Huruví Day is marked on the third day of the month of Jumada al-Akhirah every year. Don Bandaarain liberated the Maldives from the Portuguese on the night of the Sunday that fell on the third of the month of Jumada al-Akhirah in the year 1166. This day is marked as Huruví Day to give courage to all the citizens of the Maldivian nation to keep alive the memory of the national heroes, and to keep alive and maintain in Maldivian hearts the resolve and zeal for the independence and nationalism that those heroes brought.