Ministry of Tourism organises webinar on “Role of Bengal in the Freedom Movement of India” under Dekho Apna Desh series

Jan. 22: On the eve of India’s 75th Independence Day celebration on 14th August 2021, the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) held a webinar and during the webinar, a series of 12 episodes was launched that will take the participants on a virtual journey of Incredible India. Today on Saturday the 22nd January 2022, the 6th episode of the series titled “Role of Bengal in the Freedom Movement of India” was held.

In today’s episode, Regional Level Guides (RLG) Shri Manabendra Nag and Mrs. Malini Basu from Bengal and Dr. Ajay Singh, President, Tour Guides Federation of India (TGFI) presented the saga of valour of Great Indian Freedom Fighters from Bengal who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of India. The Great People who defended and fought for the freedom of country from the Colonial Rules therefore  are our real time heroes. In order to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of the great freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and as part of the year long celebrations, the Government has decided to install a grand statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate, New Delhi. The statue, made of granite, shall be a fitting tribute to the immense contribution of Netaji in our freedom struggle, and would be a symbol of the country’s indebtedness to him. Till the work for the statue is completed, a hologram statue of Netaji will be present at the same place. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will unveil the hologram statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate on 23rd January, 2022.

In the journey of AKAM, the Ministry of Tourism is focussing on children and youth to get more acquainted with India’s glorious past and a grand future. The children and youth are strength and power of our incredible country. With strong rooted cultural values and to take India ahead on the path of global leadership, it is vital that they are made aware of the strength of the diversity of our Nation. Each of the episode in the series is focussed on diverse themes regarding rich cultural, history, heritage of India, and to generate awareness about “Incredible India”.

During the webinar, Shri Manabedra Nag and Mrs. Malini Basu spoke about the role of freedom fighters from Bengal wherein they shared the stories of sacrifices made by the great people from Bengal, and sopke about Shri Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Sri Aurobindo Gosh, Khudiram Bose, Prafulla Chaki, Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and many more for their enormous contribution and sacrifices in the freedom struggle of India.

During the webinar, Smt. Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India spoke about the incredible women freedom fighters from Bengal who have a significant contribution in the freedom struggle of the country such as Bina Das Ji, Kamala Das Gupta Ji , Sarojini Naidu Ji, Sucheta Kriplani Ji and many more. She further stated that we should never forget the sacrifice of freedom fighters. Mrs. Brar further spoke about the National War Memorial at New Delhi, a must visit  while in the Capital city. It is a memorial dedicated to all the Martyrs who have laid down their life for our country in war. More details about the National War Memorial, timings, activities, facilities and aids etc are available on the official website:  https://nationalwarmemorial.gov.in/

Ms. (Dr.) Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General, Association of Indian Universities emphasised that students, youngsters to be educated with in depth knowledge of our rich history, culture, and heritage of India as we are celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav so as our young Indians know more about our country and feel proud.

Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series is an effort to showcase India’s rich diversity under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat and it is continuously spreading spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat through virtual platform. The webinar was followed by a quiz hosted on MyGov. The Dekho Apna Desh Webinar and AKAM Webinar Series is presented in technical partnership with National e Governance Department, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The Sessions of Webinar are now available on the https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzIbBmMvtvH7d6Zo_ZEHDA/featured