Student initiatives to mark 125 yrs of Swamiji's Chicago speech: CM

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government has decided to take up character-building programmes in schools as part of the celebration of 125 years of Swami Vivekananda's address in the Parliament of World's Religion in Chicago.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday inaugurated the Vivek Chetna Utsav and announced a series of programmes that the state government will take up next year to mark the same.

Banerjee has also announced a committee that will take up the project to organise character-building programmes in schools. "I would like to announce from this programme that a committee with Partha Chatterjee, the state Education minister, as its chairman, would be formed to take up the character-development programmes in schools. Representatives from Ramakrishna Mission will also be members of the committee and they will work together with the state government to give a proper shape to the entire project," the Chief Minister said, adding that the state Youth Services and Sports department will also be part of it.

Apart from the character-building programmes, the Chief Minister announced that a cultural programme will be organised at Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan to celebrate 125 years of Swami Vivekananda's address in the Parliament of World's Religion in Chicago. She said that as many as 1 lakh students and youth will be part of the event.

The CM further said that the state government organises Vivek Chetna Utsav from January 10 to 12 all across the state. Different competitions and character-development programmes are organised for students and youths in all the 341 blocks, 117 municipalities, 6 municipal corporations and 144 wards of Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

Each block is given Rs 30,000 and the state government spends around Rs 1.90 crore for the programme, through which messages of communal harmony are also spread.

"Similarly, the state government also organises Subhas Utsav every year on January 23 and 24, as a show of respect to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. For this event, Rs 20,000 is given to every block and the total expenditure stands at Rs 1.30 crore," she said.

Later, in a tweet, she mentioned: "On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, 'Vivek Chetna Utsav' will be celebrated in all the blocks, municipalities and municipal corporations all over the state from January 10 to 12, 2018."

Banerjee also raised a demand for a national holiday on birthdays of both Swami Vivekananda and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. She said: "The state government has declared holidays on birthdays of both Swami Vivekananda and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on January 12 and 23respectively and the Centre should also declare a holiday on these days."