Sadbhavana Diwas 2023: All you need to know about the 79th birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi
Sadbhavana Diwas 2023: 20 August 2023, marks the 79th birth anniversary of India's Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. This day is observed as 'Sadbhavana Diwas' or Harmony Day' with the objective to encourage national integration, peace, affection, and communal harmony among the Indian people of all religions.
'Sadbhavana' in the English language means goodwill and bonafide. Being the youngest Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi's thought process was modern and different from others.
Rajiv Gandhi had the vision of a developed nation via many national as well as international projects that he pioneered. The main theme of Sadbhavana Diwas is to promote national integration and communal harmony among people of all religions and languages.
Rajiv Gandhi Biography: Birth, Assassination, Family, Education, Personal Life, and Political Career
About Rajiv Gandhi
He was the youngest Prime Minister of the country. He became Prime Minister at the age of 40. India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru was his grandfather. Indira Gandhi his mother was the first women Prime Minister of India. After the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister. He served from 1984-89.
He contributed greatly to the development of the country. He announced a National Policy on Education in 1986 to modernise and expand higher education programs across India. He founded a central government-based institution namely Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya System in 1986 for the upliftment of the rural section of society providing them free residential education from 6th to 12 class. Due to his efforts, MTNL was established in 1986 and also created public call offices (PCOs) for spreading telephones in rural areas.
In post-1990, he introduced measures for reducing Licence Raj allowing businesses and individuals to purchase capital, consumer goods, and import without bureaucratic restrictions. He introduced the age of voting rights as 18 and also included Panchayati Raj. He strongly encouraged youth power and said that the development of the country depends only on the awareness of the youth of the country. That's why Jawahar Rozgar Yojana started to give jobs to the youth.
Sadbhavana Diwas Pledge
“I take this solemn pledge that I will work for the emotional oneness and harmony of all the people of India regardless of caste, region, religion, or language. I further pledge that I shall resolve all differences among us through dialogue and constitutional means without resorting to violence.”
Sadbhavana Diwas: Significance
Sadbhavana Diwas is celebrated in the memory of Rajiv Gandhi every year who dreamed to make India a developed country. His several economic and social works clearly show his dream.
Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award
In 1992, the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award was instituted by the All India Congress Committee of the Indian National Congress in memory of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Every year this award is given to those who have devoted their lives to understanding and promoting social harmony. This award constitutes a citation and cash Prize of Rs 10 Lakh.
Recipients of the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award are Jagan Nath Kaul, Lata Mangeshkar, Sunil Dutt, Kapila Vatsyanan, S.N.Subba Rao, Swami Agnivesh, Nirmala Deshpande, Hem Dutta, N Radhakrishnan, Gautam Bhai, Wahiduddin Khan, SPIC MACAY, D.R Mehta, Amjad Ali Khan, Muzaffar Ali, Shubha Mudgal, Mohammad Azharuddin, M.Gopala Krishna, Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
“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
