NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MAR 11
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday inaugurate the ”Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav” event by flagging off a 241-mile march from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Navsari district of Gujarat to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence, Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said Thursday.
Addressing the media, the culture and tourism minister said the government has decided to organise a series of events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence as ”Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav” from March 12, 2021, to August 15, 2022.
States and Union Territories will also organize programmes on Friday, he said.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the ”Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav” and flag-off the march from Sabarmati Ashram tomorrow.
“The 25-day march will cover 241 miles from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Navsari, and will end on April 5. Eighty-one people will participate in the padyatra and different groups of people will be joining it on the way to Dandi.
“I will lead the first lap of 75 kilometres till Nadiad,” Patel said.
Explaining the significance of choosing March 12 for the padyatra, the minister said it was on this day in 1930 that Mahatma Gandhi took out the famous Dandi march along with 81 people to break the law imposing a tax on salt.
The government has decided to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Independence as ”Amrut Mahotsav”. Weekly events will be organized during the next 75 weeks till August 15 next year.
Every week, an event will be held. To ensure the involvement of all citizens in this mahotsav, various programmes will be organised with the culture ministry in a supporting role, Patel said.
Javadekar to inaugurate exhibitions at seven places on March 13
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar will inaugurate exhibitions at seven places virtually on March 13 as part of ”Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav”, to celebrate 75 years of the country’s independence.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said while the main event will be inaugurated at Sabarmati Ashram in Gandhinagar by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, a total of 37 state-level exhibitions will be inaugurated by eminent personalities.
Javadekar will inaugurate exhibitions at Samba district in Jammu and Kashmir, Bangalore, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Moirang district in Manipur, and Patna in Bihar.
The minister will also inaugurate an exhibition at National Media Centre in New Delhi on March 13.
The exhibitions will feature major landmarks of India’s struggle for independence, viz, Non-Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience, Quit India Movement, etc. with a focus on Dandi March, Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel, and other leaders of the movement who made sacrifices for the country, the ministry said.
It said the festival would commence 75 weeks before Independence Day 2022 and would continue till Independence Day 2023.
“The event would be kicked off with a 25-day celebration, beginning March 12, 2021 (anniversary of the launch of Dandi March) with the launch of the opening ceremony by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat and concluding on April 5, 2021 (conclusion of Dandi March),” the ministry said.
Javadekar said all states have displayed much interest in the events and that the events starting March 12 on the anniversary of Dandi March and continuing for almost two-and-a-half years will create an atmosphere of celebration in the country.
It said the Publications Division will publish books on unsung heroes of the freedom movement, women freedom fighters, battles and freedom fighters from northeast India, the role of the press in the freedom movement, etc.
The publications will be brought out over two years.
