Modi to launch ‘Azadi Ka Amrut’ event on Dandi anniversary in grand run-up to 75th I-Day

Govt’s planned 25-day celebrations will include exhibitions on freedom fighters including Gandhi, Patel and Netaji. First PM Nehru missing in list of names.

A boy wears a face mask with the Indian flag on it, at Delhi's Jama Masjid | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

New Delhi: Come 12 March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the “Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav” from Gujarat as part of his government’s efforts to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence next year. The date is exactly 75 weeks from the 75th Independence Day on 15 August 2022. 

The 25-day mahotsav will last from 12 March to 5 April, the dates associated with the beginning and end of the 1930 Dandi March, a civil disobedience campaign led by Mahatma Gandhi. 

Plans for the commemorations were Wednesday conveyed by the Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to all state government and relevant central government departments through a directive, a copy of has been accessed by ThePrint.

Among other events, the central and state governments will organise exhibitions on the lives of freedom fighters. While Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbai Patel and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose are named in the directive, one notable omission is India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

“Exhibitions to be organised by state governments in coordination with BOC (Bureau of Outreach Communication, a media unit under the Union Information & Broadcasting Ministry) — (a) Exhibitions on Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and Netaji to be organised by BOC at various locations and (b) exhibitions on freedom fighters and unsung heroes to be organised by the state governments,” the directive reads.

Dates historically significant

Both the launch and conclusion dates of the celebration are historically significant. The date of 12 March is the anniversary of the launch of the Dandi March, one of the pivotal events of the Indian independence struggle. The march had concluded 25 days later, on 5 April.  

Youth clubs, cycle rallies and essay competitions are among a long list of events that the government has planned out between 12 March and 5 April.

Across the country, 75 places of historical significance, ideally connected to the independence movement, will be selected for the inaugural event on 12 March. Two to three sites will be chosen in every state or Union Territory by the respective governments.

The main celebration will happen at these locations, with the participation of youth clubs, Nehru Yuva Kendras and National Cadet Corps (NCC) volunteers under the aegis of the Department of Youth Affairs. 

The department has also been tasked with organising cycle rallies across the country to commemorate the occasion. Various other ministries in the Union government have been made responsible for organising other aspects of the celebrations.

The Department of School Education and Literacy, along with the University Grants Commission (UGC), will oversee the organisation of one-hour conferences, seminars or symposia at schools, colleges and universities across the country on 12 March. The topic will be India’s freedom struggle. 

An essay competition will be held in schools, and at the tehsil, district and state levels, on the same theme. A similar essay competition in colleges and universities will be overseen by the UGC or the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), according to the I&B Ministry directive.