Chandigarh, November 7 - The commemorative festival of the completion of 150 years of the national song 'Vande Mataram' was celebrated with full dignity and decency across Haryana today. Chief Secretary Shri Anurag Rastogi attended the program organized at the Haryana Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh as the chief guest.
Shri Rastogi said that it is very difficult to imagine how painful the pain of being ruled in one's own country is. In 1857, the trumpet of the first freedom struggle sounded and enlightened citizens started speaking against the atrocities of the British.
He said that there has been a long tradition of songs and music in our country. One such song is - Vande Mataram. This immortal Gita ignited the light of patriotism in the hearts of the people suffering from the atrocities of the British rule, gave voice to the national consciousness and gave direction to India's freedom struggle.
He said that today the entire country is celebrating the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram with great pride and dignity. Congratulating the officers and employees present, he said that Vande Mataram is not just a Gita, it is the worship of Mother India, the soul of our national character.
The Chief Secretary said that the countries and states that do not remember their history, their existence does not last long. Therefore, we have to constantly remember the glorious history of our country, its invaluable heritage. We have to follow the path shown by our great men and freedom fighters.
He said that on this occasion, an exhibition based on the life of Shri Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the composer of this immortal Gita, has also been put up. In this, the related contexts of his life have been described. He appealed to the officers and employees present to definitely see this exhibition and learn something from it. He also recited the National Anthem in Hindi.
At the beginning of the program, the Chief Secretary and several senior officers lit the lamp and offered flowers at the feet of Mother India. On this occasion, school children enthralled the people by singing the National Anthem. The officers and employees present sang Vande Matram together. At the end of the program, along with the National Anthem, the state song Jai Jai Jai Haryana was also sung.
Earlier, Director General of Information, Public Relations and Languages ??Department, Shri K. Makrand Pandurang welcomed the chief guest and presented him with a photograph of Vande Mataram Gita at the end of the programme.
The program included Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Dr. Sumita Mishra, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Mr. Sudhir Rajpal, Additional Chief Secretary, Cooperation Department, Vijayendra Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Town and Country Planning and Urban Estate Department, Mr. Apurv Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Arun Gupta, Director General of Police, Mr. O. P. Singh, Principal Secretary, Power Department, Mr. Shyamal Mishra, Commissioner and Secretary, All India Housing Department, Mohammad Shine, Commissioner and Secretary, Information, Public Relations, Language and Culture Department, Dr. Amit Kumar Agarwal, Commissioner and Secretary, Finance Department, Mr. Rajnikathan, Commissioner and Secretary, Human Resource Department, Mr. PC Meena, Principal Secretary, Sports Department, Mr. Navdeep Singh, Principal Secretary, Heritage and Tourism, Mrs. Kala Ramachandran, Special Secretary, Personnel Training and Parliamentary Affairs Department, Dr. Aditya Dahiya, Director, Women and Child Development Department, Mrs. Priyanka Soni and Additional Secretary of Secretariat Establishment, Mr. Samwartak Singh Khangwal, along with employees of Haryana Civil Secretariat and officers and personnel of CISF were also present.