After Jammikunta, another Telangana town to sing national anthem every morning

The town of Lakshettipet in Mancherial district, Telangana is all set to make its citizens sing the national anthem every morning, starting on April 14 on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti.

The arrangements were made by the Nitya Jateeya Geetalapana (Eternal Singing of the National Anthem) Steering Committee, whose members included Mandal Education Officer (MEO) Kasula Ravindar, Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) Sampati Srinivas and other government officials.

The concept was first proposed and implemented in the state last year in the Jammikunta town of Karimnagar district, starting on August 15.

Speaking to TNM, Lakshettipet MEO K. Ravindar says, “The proposal was made by the Lakshettipet Youth Group, who communicate over a Whatsapp group. After accepting their proposal, the Steering Committee was formed. The committee has been involved in fundraising and awareness campaigns.”

Mancherial MLA Diwakar Rao Nadipelli of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has lauded the move to promote the feeling of nationalism among citizens. “The MLA is very happy with the initiative. He has presented us with thirty mics to make the program successful,” adds Ravindar.

According to an Eenadu report, the mics were worth Rs 60,000. Other government officials are also reported to have made monetary contributions.

“We have raised funds from the public as well. We bought cables for the mics and printed brochures for the awareness campaigns. The Youth Group has been working relentlessly day and night to make this initiative successful,” says Ravindar.

Eternal Singing of the National Anthem to begin on Ambedkar Jayanti

When asked why the Nitya Jateeya Geetalapana program is being inaugurated on Ambedkar Jayanti, Ravindar says, “We wanted to begin the national anthem program on a national festival. We also felt that all communities would feel included this way, and it would be a good way to celebrate the occasion. We are going to have a big event tomorrow morning at the Ambedkar Chowk where we have an Ambedkar Statue. We will have a few programs in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s honour, after which we will begin the national anthem program.”

Is this turning into a trend?

Ever since a police officer in Jammikunta implemented the idea in his town, this performance of nationalism seems to be mushrooming in nearby areas.

Following Jammikunta’s cue, a couple of other towns in Telangana have adopted this practice, including Godavarikhani, Kolanur village in Rajanna Sircilla district and Korutla town in Jagtial district. In all of these cases, it seems that public servants have been spending their time and resources on arranging the programs.

While in Jammikunta, the police had taken the initiative, it was the Chamber of Trade and Commerce in Godavarikhani, and the village sarpanch in Kolanur that started the program.

“The CI and SI from our town went to visit Jammikunta to learn from their practices. It is completely run by the police in their town and it has been very successful. Since the police station in our town is on the outskirts, we have prepared volunteers at all the centres where the anthem will be played to make sure it is successful in our town also,” says Ravindar.

The Steering Committee has been conducting awareness campaigns in the town to promote the exercise.

“We have organized rallies with government school students on one day and with private school students on another day. We have printed brochures and gone door-to-door to educate people about the initiative. We conducted a 2K run this week, with nearly 200 people participating. We also tested the sound equipment by playing some songs,” says Ravindar.

The sound systems have been installed at ten centres across the town, with some of the centres having two to three large speakers. When asked if singing the anthem daily will be made compulsory, Ravindar says, “Nobody has ever asked us that before.  Everyone has responded positively and I am sure no one is going to refuse to sing the anthem.”