Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat

India is a unique nation, whose fabric has been woven by diverse linguistic, cultural and religious threads, held together into a composite national identity by a rich history of cultural evolution, coupled with a rousing freedom struggle that was built around the tenets of non-violence and justice. The spirit of mutual understanding amidst a shared history has enabled a special unity in diversity, which stands out as a tall flame of nationhood that needs to be nourished and cherished in the future.

The idea of a sustained and structured cultural connect between denizens of different regions was mooted by Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi during the RashtriyaEkta Divas held on 31st October, 2015, to commemorate the birth anniversary of SardarVallabhbhai Patel. Hon’ble Prime Minister propounded that cultural diversity is a joy that ought to be celebrated through mutual interaction & reciprocity between people of different States and UTs so that a common spirit of understanding resonates throughout the country.

The broad objectives of the initiative are as follows

i. To CELEBRATE the Unity in Diversity of our Nation and to maintain and strengthen the fabric of traditionally existing emotional bonds between the people of our Country;

ii. To PROMOTE the spirit of national integration through a deep and structured engagement between all Indian States and Union Territories through a year-long planned engagement between States;

iii. To SHOWCASE the rich heritage and culture, customs and traditions of either State for enabling people to understand and appreciate the diversity that is India.

iv. TO ESTABLISH long-term engagements and,

v. TO CREATE an environment this promotes learning between States by sharing best practices and experiences.

To take forward EBSB events at IIM Ranchi, this chapter was held on 15^th October 2018. This edition of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat was organised to celebrate the uniqueness of Telangana and Haryana. The programme commenced with a welcome speech by Pradnya Salve,Junior Executive Member, Cultural Committee, IIM Ranchi, who conveyed the importance of EBSB initiatives to the gathering.

The representatives of Telangana started their performance with a song named “Jaya Jaya he Telangana, written by Mr.Andhe Sri which was followed by a brief description about Telangana’s culture, heritage and the struggle witnessed by the people of Telangana during their formation of the state. The group also spoke about famous festivals like Batukamma and Bonalu and finally showed a small clip from the movie “Hyderabad Nawabs” to show Hyderabadi Hindi accent. The Haryana group started with a brief introduction about their culture and sang two poems related to the present crisis of female foeticide. This was followed by a Haryanvi group Song named “Bolteremethemethe” written by JagbirRathee and ended their performance with the state’s history.

The day ended with a vote of thanks by Pradnya Salve, to all the participants and the audience present.