National Integration Day hopes to keep up the spirit of love, unity and bonding between the people of India and cherish these values for our entire lifetime. The central government organizes many national exchange programs on this day for the country’s younger generation.
When is National Integration Day 2021?
Every year 19th November is celebrated as National Integration Day to honour India’s first woman Prime Minister, Smt. Indira Gandhi. Mrs Gandhi made several reforms in the country during her tenure, especially in the agricultural sector. National integration features a mix of universal acceptance, brotherhood, harmony and unity amongst various factors like historical and political background, social and economic differences, linguistic variations and cultural ethnicities.
Why is National Integration Day celebrated on 19th November?
Indira Gandhi, the famous daughter of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamala Nehru, was born on 19th November 1917. She rose to high prominence in the Congress Working Committee around the year 1955. In the regime under Lal Bahadur Shastri, she was the minister of Information and Broadcasting. After Lal Bahadur Shastri’s sudden death, she was made the successor to the PM’s throne. Under her tenure, India won the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
Many treaties were signed during her rule, like the Shimla Pact, Indo-Soviet treaty of peace, friendship and co-operation. She also took advanced steps in space science, and India’s first astronaut Rakesh Sharma made a remarkable feat into India’s space history. She served the country for more than 15 years. On the day of 31st October 1984, she was brutally assassinated by her bodyguards, who bathed her in the blood through bullets and gunshots.
The assassins’ motive was to avenge the attack done on the Golden Temple, the holy place of the Sikhs. The nation saw the death of one of its most abled Prime Ministers. Every year, the National Integration Day is celebrated in her remembrance to commemorate her significant contributions to the country.
National Integration Day 2021 Significance
India stands on the pillar of strength of these fundamental values – unity and universal brotherhood, peace and tranquillity, love and harmonious living. Yet, there are disturbances created from both internal and external factors. The country’s youth are dissuaded into anti-social elements and other anti-national activities that send out a wrong message to the forthcoming generations.
The influence of politics in our nation is more on the murkier side than proving to be a helpful asset to the citizens. Dislocating the peaceful ongoings of society into spheres of tension harms the national integrity of our country. The day is popular in political circles as Quami Ekata Divas. The day is a tribute to Indira Gandhi, who served the country as the first woman Prime Minister. On her birthday, our nation celebrates National Integration Day.
India is a nation that advocates unity in its diversity. Our rich heritage is varied in nature. Every state has its own identity in terms of festival celebrations, food, clothing, lifestyle, language spoken, traditional practices and cultural mixes. People are, therefore, a mix of all these factors and represent the state from where they come from. The country has been sailing all these years smoothly amidst all these mixed differences.
The one thing that unifies and bonds people together is the integrity factor of being an Indian citizen. Yet, we can see political elements trying to bring in internal differences and playing spoilsport to our subcontinent’s smooth functioning. We have to encourage our youth, motivate them to curb such demotivating factors, bring oneness, and help in national integrity conservation.
National Integration Day 2021 Theme
The day is lined up with lots of related themes, messages, quotes and one-liner slogans. Though the day doesn’t carry a particular theme explicitly for each year, it propagates unity and integrity in all of its related resources. Some of the famous quotes/slogans are listed below:
- National integration as a force brings energy through various synergies.
- The integrity of a nation bestows upon its countrymen the values of living in peace and harmony.
- Unity in diversity is the supreme motto of our society.
The celebrations of National Integration Day is not restricted to a single day. Instead, it is carried out for an entire week with different themes associated with each following day. They are listed below:
- Minority welfare Day
- Linguistic harmony day
- Day for the weaker sections of society.
- Cultural unity day
- Conservation Day
National Integration Day 2021 Celebrations
There are many activities carried out to preserve national integrity and spread messages to the next generations. Amongst them, the most significant contribution is by the Ministry of Youth affairs and sports. They have been offering immense support for the cause of national integrity conservation through direct and indirect ways.
Promotional activities aimed at bringing youth closer to each other and promote their growth on unified stands are a significant beneficial factor to the nation. The day seeks to form groups of youth who understand the essence of national integrity and fetch its importance to the citizens. Through the encouragement of regional and national sporting events, the youth interact with people and regions of diverse nature.
They are given exposure to cultures and living ways of different backgrounds. Tournaments and meets are held at various places with an internal aim to set the stage for more significant interaction between students of different states. When these students go back after celebrations, they also spread the word to their communities, thus stretching the message beyond fixed frontiers. There are other activities carried out on this eventful day that make it very significant for our countrymen, like:
- Camps for students from different parts of the country.
- Youth exchange programs between inter-state students.
- Seminars, debates and discussion forums.
- Essay and Speech writing competitions
- Community activities by students from different schools and exhibition of cultural events.
- Youth festival and national awards for various youth achievements.
The famous motto of national integration is “Unity in Diversity”.