The event, to be held on the Kartavya Path in New Delhi, will also mark the closing of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a grand celebration to mark 75 years of India’s Independence.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi will on Tuesday (31) participate in the culmination of the ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ (My Land, My Country) campaign, a tribute to those who made the supreme sacrifice for the country, and inaugurate ‘Amrit Vatika’ and ‘Amrit Mahotsav Memorial’ on India’s first deputy prime minister and home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s 148th birth anniversary on the same day.
The event, to be held on the Kartavya Path in New Delhi, will also mark the closing of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (grand celebration to mark 75 years of India’s Independence) and the launch of the ‘Mera Yuva Bharat’ (MY Bharat) platform for the youth of the country, a statement said.
Modi will also address thousands of people who spearheaded the Amrit Kalash Yatras in different parts of the country. The statement from the prime minister’s office said the ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign is a tribute to the bravehearts who have made the supreme sacrifice for the country.
In the spirit of people’s participation, the campaign comprised many activities and ceremonies conducted across the country, including building of memorials and people taking five pledges first spelt out by Modi in his Independence Day speech. These also included planting saplings of indigenous species, developing ‘Amrit Vatika’ and felicitation ceremonies for honouring the freedom fighters and the families of deceased freedom fighters.
“The campaign became a massive success, with over 2.3 lakh (230,000) memorials built in 36 states/Union Territories; nearly 4 crore ‘Panch Pran’ pledge selfies uploaded; 2 lakh (200,000) plus ‘Veeron ka Vandan’ programmes nationwide; more than 2.36 crore (23.6 million) indigenous saplings have been planted; and 2.63 lakh (263,000) Amrit Vatikas created,” the statement said.
The ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign also included the Amrit Kalash Yatra, which comprised collecting soils and rice grains from over six lakh villages and wards in urban areas that were sent to block level (where the soil of all villages in the block was mixed) and then to the state capital.
The soil from the state level was sent to the national capital. All the states and Union Territories represented by their respective blocks and urban local bodies will be mixing soil in one giant ‘Amrit Kalash’ on Monday (30), a day before the programme, in the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’, it said.
The ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign was envisaged as a culminating event of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The celebration began on March 12, 2021, and continued for 75 weeks.
(With PTI inputs)