Aiyar releases calendar commemorating 1857 struggle

New Delhi, Jan 9 (UNI) Union Minister for Youth Affairs and sports Mani Shankar Aiyar today called upon the youth in the villages of the country to recollect any incident or episode unreported so far that contributed to India's Independence in 1947.

''The youth should recall the anecdotes and incidents pertaining to great personalities and the common man whose contribution in freedom struggle has not been brought to light so far,'' Mr Aiyar said speaking at a function where he released a calendar and posters to mark the 150th anniversary of the country's First War of Independence in 1857.

The minister said over two lakh village level youth clubs under the Nehru Yuvak Kendra had to be involved in the celebration to commemorate the first war of independence. They had been told to participate fully in the celebrations.

The Nehru Yuvak Kendra, set up in 1972, under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to involve rural youth in nation building activities, was taking a lead in commemorating the First War of Independence by reaching out to the youth at various levels with the clear picture of the 1857 struggle for freedom, he said.

The Kendra proposed to launch various activities like cultural shows, nukkad natak, honouring freedom fighters and holding meetings of historians as part of celebrations to commemorate the year, according to its Director General Shakeel Ahmad Khan.

He said to begin with, a year planner-cum-annual diary, a table calendar and a wall calendar with pictures of freedom figthrers, historical facts and information were being released.

UNI