Freedom song: Govt plans memorial for bravehearts in all villages

Dubbed ‘Shilaphalakam’ — a Malayalam word meaning a plaque — these memorials will be built in each village and will be inaugurated between August 9 and August 15. The design and measurements for the memorial have been specified by the government.

As per the concept note for ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ programme, “A fundamental aspect of the programme is to express heartfelt gratitude to all the bravehearts (Veer) who have made the supreme sacrifice.”

These bravehearts, the ministry’s note explains, are “freedom fighters, defence personnel, personnel of Central Armed Police Forces and State Police who laid down their lives in the line of duty”. Shilaphalakams will be built near Amrit Sarovars in these villages, or some other appropriate waterbody in case there is no Amrit Sarovar in the area, the note says.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched Mission Amrit Sarovar in April 2022, aiming to rejuvenate 75 waterbodies in each district of the country to mark Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. In case no waterbody is available, the Shilaphalakam may be constructed in the local panchayat building, or local school, or at some other prominent location, the note says.

According to the ministry, a ceremony will be held at the proposed memorial site in each village, with people taking a pledge to affirm their commitment to India. The pledge comprises “removing any trace of colonial mindset”, and devoting oneself to the “nation’s defence and progress”.

Participants will be asked to take a selfie while taking the pledge with soil in their hands, and upload it on a website dedicated to the programme. Seventy-five saplings of indigenous species of plants will be planted to develop an Amrit Vatika on the site, as per the plan.

For the final event, to be held in New Delhi in the last week of August, volunteers have been tasked with collecting “mitti” — earth — from each of these panchayats or villages, and bringing them to the block level. From each block, a “mitti kalash”, or an urn carrying this earth, will be carried to Delhi.

The finale will be held on the Kartavya Path, where soil from all parts of the country will be utilised to develop a unique garden, called Amrit Vatika, with plantations of indigenous species, officials said.

An AKAM Memorial, dedicated to all those who contributed for India’s independence, unity and integrity will be set up, the note says. The programme is likely to be attended by the Prime Minister, and several ministers, officials and diplomats, besides families of some of these freedom fighters.

Work on the memorial plaque is to be executed through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), with an aim to leverage local material and resources. According to the government note, the design will include the AKAM logo, the Prime Minister’s quote for Vision 2047 — “To live for the motherland each day, every moment of time and every particle of life will be our true tribute to the freedom fighters” — names of local “Veers”, the name of the panchayat concerned, and the date of its inauguration.

The government had officially launched AKAM, with the Ministry of Culture as its nodal ministry, on March 12, 2021, as a 75-week countdown to the 75th anniversary of Independence. It ends on August 15 this year.

Modi inaugurated the celebration in March 2021 with a padyatra at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.