Remembering Rajiv Gandhi on Sadbhavana Diwas 2024
Sadbhavana Diwas, also known as Harmony Day, is celebrated on August 20th of each year to mark the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, the youngest prime minister of India. His dream of an united and peaceful India still serves as a source of inspiration for communal harmony and national unity across the nation. Gandhi’s “goodwill” campaign, known as sadbhavana, captures the spirit of his attempts to promote peace amongst India’s diverse cultures.
The Legacy of Rajiv Gandhi
At forty years old, Rajiv Gandhi became prime minister and was well-known for his progressive views and dedication to making India a prosperous country. During his administration, a number of important measures targeting economic, telecommunications, and educational reforms were introduced. Notably, he founded the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya System to offer free residential education to kids in rural areas and introduced the National Policy on Education in 1986 to modernize higher education.
The Significance of Sadbhavana Diwas: Promoting Peace and Unity
Sadbhavana Diwas is a call to action for promoting peace, communal harmony, and national unity rather than just a day of remembrance. It reminds us of Rajiv Gandhi’s conviction that the unity of India’s people—regardless of caste, religion, or language—is essential to the country’s prosperity. The Sadbhavana Diwas Pledge, which calls on people to stay away from all forms of violence and resolve disputes via discussion and constitutional channels, is another event celebrated on this day.
The Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award: Celebrating Social Harmony
The Indian National Congress established the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award in 1992 to honour him for his services to social peace. This award honors people who have devoted their whole lives to advancing understanding and peace in society. It highlights the significance of Gandhi’s principles in modern-day India and comes with a citation and an award of Rs 10 lakh.
Impact of Rajiv Gandhi’s Vision
The leadership of Rajiv Gandhi established the foundations for an inclusive and progressive India. His initiatives, which included lowering the voting age to 18 and decreasing bureaucratic barriers in the post-1990 era, empowered young people and promoted their active involvement in the development of the country. His belief that India’s future lies with its youth was strengthened by programs like the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana, which sought to give young people access to the workforce.
The celebration of Sadbhavana Diwas 2024 pays tribute to Rajiv Gandhi’s continuous legacy of advancing harmony, peace, and progress. On this day of remembering, India should consider the achievements he made and recommit to creating a peaceful and successful country.
“India is an old country, but a young nation; and like the young everywhere, we are impatient. I am young and I too have a dream. I dream of an India, strong, independent, self-reliant and in the forefront of the front ranks of the nations of the world in the service of mankind” – Rajiv Gandhi
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