Soon, a special plaque featuring the names of local heroes, along with a quote by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be installed in cities and villages across the country. Freedom fighters, defense personnel, personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), and personnel of the State Police, who laid down their lives in the line of duty, will be commemorated.
The ‘Shilaphalakam’ plaques are part of the ‘Meri Mati Mera Desh’ (my soil my country) concluding programme of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations for 75 years of Indian Independence, which began in 2021.
The plaques will be installed near water bodies, where available, and near panchayat offices and schools, where water bodies are not available, Union Culture Secretary Govind Mohan told the media here.
Details on specifications, including suggested dimensions and model art work, have been shared on a special portal designed for the purpose, Mr. Mohan said.
“We have requested that the names inscribed be sent to us as well for compilation in a central data base,” Mr. Mohan said, adding that a quote from Mr. Modi would also be shared.
“The ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign is envisaged as a culminating event of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. This is a much more ambitious programme than the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ programme that was launched last year,” Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Information and Broadcasting, who was also part of the briefing, said.
Moreover, as part of the programme, youth volunteers will collect soil from each panchayat or village and take it to the block level. From each block, a special urn containing all the soil will be brought to the national capital. In urban areas, the urns would be carried to the larger municipalities and towns from smaller local bodies before being brought to the national capital.
Approximately 8,000 urns are expected to be carried to Delhi, where the soil will be used to create a special garden, the ‘Amrit Vatika’, the Culture Secretary said, adding that the government was in the process of finalising a spot for this garden.
A special memorial will also be constructed in the national capital.
