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Ekta Nagar to host 25,000 on National Unity Day, with 5,000 from Maoist-hit districts
Home Secretary Govind Mohan said the 31 October celebrations would mark the end of Left-wing extremism, with a drug-free India as a key message.
Key points
- Arrangements are being made for 25,000 people at Ekta Nagar on 31 October, against 1,500 to 2,000 earlier.
- About 5,000 participants are expected from 126 districts affected by Left-wing extremism.
- Govind Mohan said the day was not meant to compete with Republic Day.
About 25,000 people are expected at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat for National Unity Day on 31 October, including some 5,000 from districts affected by Left-wing extremism, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a conference in New Delhi, Mohan said this year’s celebrations of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary would mark the end of Left-wing extremism, though national unity would remain the central theme.
The event is growing sharply. Mohan said arrangements were being made for 25,000 people, where earlier editions drew around 1,500 to 2,000. Online registration has been introduced for the first time, and 5,000 to 6,000 people, many from outside Gujarat, had already registered. Planning started about four months ahead instead of the usual two to two and a half.
The programme will include 15 tableaux, five on national themes chosen through a national-level competition and ten on Gujarat, along with Kuchipudi and Mohiniyattam performances and a play.
“National Unity Day was not intended to compete with Republic Day,” Mohan said.
A drug-free India is the other key message. The police motorcycle rally that Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off in Delhi on Wednesday, with contingents from the states, Union Territories and central armed police forces, carries that theme to Ekta Nagar. At the National Police Memorial earlier in the day, Shah urged police forces to stay committed for three years to make India drug-free by 2029.
National Unity Day, or Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, has been observed on 31 October since 2014.