Centre forms panels to mark 150th birth anniversaries of Sardar Patel, Birsa Munda and 100th of Vajpayee

New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair three newly constituted high-level committees formed to commemorate the legacies of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Birsa Munda, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee – each a towering figure in India’s historical and political arena.

Through separate gazette notifications issued by the Ministry of Culture, the Centre has announced year-long celebrations marking Patel’s 150th birth anniversary, Munda’s sesquicentennial, and Vajpayee’s birth centenary, signalling a coordinated national tribute that blends freedom struggle, tribal resistance, and modern statesmanship under one commemorative arc.

The gazette notifications have been issued by the Ministry of Culture on August 23 and 25.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, born on October 31, 1875, is revered as India’s first Home Minister and the architect of national integration.

His legacy is immortalised in the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, the world’s tallest statue, and now finds renewed institutional recognition through the committee tasked with planning year-long commemorative events.

Birsa Munda, the tribal freedom fighter born in 1875, led a powerful indigenous uprising against British colonial rule in the late 19th century. His inclusion signals a growing national emphasis on tribal history and resistance movements, often underrepresented in mainstream narratives.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose centenary falls this year, served three terms as Prime Minister and is remembered for his poetic statesmanship, economic reforms, and bold decisions – including India’s second nuclear tests in 1998.

His tenure from 1999 to 2004 marked a period of political stability and infrastructural expansion, including the launch of the Golden Quadrilateral highway project. The committees are expected to coordinate cultural programs, academic conferences, exhibitions, and outreach campaigns across the country.

While the government has not yet released the full list of committee members, sources indicate that historians, cultural scholars, and senior bureaucrats will be involved.

By placing PM Modi at the helm of all three panels, the Centre signals a strategic alignment of legacy-building with contemporary leadership.

As India prepares to honour these icons, the commemorations are poised to become not just acts of remembrance, but instruments of national narrative shaping

–IANS

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