Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav: Union minister Anurag Thakur to kick-off ‘Iconic Week’ celebrations

Union minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur will kick off a series of activities to celebrate the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ starting August 23. The series of events will go on till August 29. The activities organised by the ministry will aim to ‘ showcase the convergence of the values and glories of the freedom struggle of the past with the aspirations and dreams of a young, new and iconic India’, a statement released by the ministry said.

Thakur will kick off the ‘Iconic Week’ which will attract participation from across the country under the overall spirit of ‘Jan Bhagidari and Jan Andolan’. During the Iconic Week, the ministry will showcase the journey of new India and celebrate the contribution of freedom fighters, including the 'Unsung Heroes of the freedom struggle, through massive outreach activities, the ministry said.

The celebrations will be a 360-degree outreach via traditional means such as cultural programmes, nukkad natak and TV programmes along with innovative means of digital and social media. “All India Radio's daily capsule 'Azadi Ka Safar, Akashvani Ke Saath' will be reaching schools and colleges across India through collaborative efforts of the Directorate of Information and Public Relations of various states and regional offices of the Ministry,” the statement said.

The AIR will launch a series of special programmes called ‘Dharohar’ which are speeches of freedom fighters; ‘Nishaan’ which will showcase 75 landmark sites and ‘Aparajita’, a show on women leaders. The Doordarshan network will telecast programmes covering themes such as diplomacy, Digital India and legislative reforms through sectoral programmes like ‘Naye Bharat Ka Naya Safar’ and ‘Journey of New India’. Popular films like Raazi will also be broadcasted. Daily news capsules on ‘Unsung heroes and Freedom Struggle’ will also be shown. “The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) is also organizing a film festival on its OTT platform www.cinemasofindia.com screening a specially curated bouquet of films such as Island City, Crossing Bridges and many others,” the statement said.

“The Bureau of Outreach and Communication will also reach out to the people through nukkad nataks, skits, magic shows, puppetry, folk recitals through more than 50 Integrated Communication and Outreach Programmes by ROBs and over 1,000 PRTs by Song and Drama Division across the country,” it further added.