India is all set to
celebrate its 77th Independence Day this year on August 15. Ahead of the Independence Day celebrations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the ‘Meri Mati Mera Desh’ campaign to honour the martyrs and to pay tribute to those who made the supreme sacrifice for the country. The campaign will run from August 9 to August 15 and multiple events have been planned across the country by the state governments as well as the Centre.
As the campaign started today, students from Shri Swaminarayan Gurukul Vidyalaya in Surat, Gujarat, created a human chain in the shape of India’s map.
#WATCH | Gujarat | Students from Shri Swaminarayan Gurukul Vidyalaya in Surat made a human chain in the shape of India's map highlighting the slogan 'Meri Maati, Mera Desh'
Not just Surat, other cities in India are also gearing up to celebrate the campaign with great enthusiasm. The National Service Scheme (NSS) units of Bathinda’s Guru Kashi University started a plantation drive to mark the occasion.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu tweeted that all senior government officers and deputy commissioners have been instructed to make the Meri Mati Mera Desh campaign a grand success. “The objective is not to remember our heroes only on special days, but throughout the year,” Khandu wrote.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis dropped a post about the launch of the campaign in the state. An event was held at Mumbai’s August Kranti Maidan, the place where Mahatma Gandhi marked the start of the Quit India Movement in 1942. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar were also present at the event.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) marked the start of the Meri Mati Mera Desh campaign with the 36th Battalion organising a lecture at Uttarakhand’s Lohaghat on the Har Ghar Tiranga Program. A ‘Pach Pran Pledge’ was also taken by the battalion.
In his Mann Ki Baat address last month,
PM Modi announced the
Meri Mati Mera Desh programme to honour martyred soldiers. The campaign will continue till August 30 with events at the national, state, block and village levels.
An 'Amrit Kalash Yatra' will be organised to symbolise the commitment to ‘'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’. Under this, soil from all corners of the country will be carried to New Delhi in 7,500 urns. These urns will be used to create an ‘Amrit Vatika’ near the National War Memorial at India Gate. The campaign will be the concluding event of the
Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, which celebrates 75 years of India’s Independence.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
