PM Modi to kick off Chauri Chaura centenary celebrations in UP today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday will inaugurate a series of events that the Uttar Pradesh government has planned throughout the year to mark the centenary of the Chauri Chaura incident, which took place on February 4, 1922.

The incident in Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district marked the end of Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement against the British colonial rule.

The state administration on Wednesday claimed that till now the history of Chauri Chaura had not been celebrated as it should have been. While Modi will kick off the year-long celebrations via video-conferencing, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will attend the celebrations in Gorakhpur. The state government has prepared a specialised logo for the year-long festivities, and plans to use it on all government official letterheads over the next year. The Adityanath administration has also announced a mass recitation of “Vande Mataram” on February 4 in an attempt to create a record.

A special theme song has also been prepared for the occasion. The song, written by Virendra Vatsa, will be played at different events throughout the year. Vatsa had also written the theme song for the tableau of Uttar Pradesh at the Republic Day parade in Delhi that won the first prize.

The government has also decided to undertake beautification of memorials of martyrs, and felicitate their families. The administration will also organise “Prabhat Pheris” across the state in the morning as part of which, groups will go around singing songs of the bravery of the Chauri-Chaura martyrs. The government has decided to organise a “Murti Shivir [idol camp]” at state Lalit Kala Academi for artisans.

Apart from all this, the government has decided to hold a special cleanliness drive to mark the occasion. Adityanath has asked the Department of Education to ensure that the Chauri Chaura incident is properly included in the syllabus of secondary government schools and instruct schools to organise events such as debates, poetry recitation, slogan competitions, quizzes, poster and drawing competitions on the theme throughout the year. The department has also been asked to arrange the visit of students of all schools to Chauri Chaura and talk to them about the stories of the martyrs.