National Unity Day will be celebrated on October 31 birth anniversary of Sardar Vallbh Bhai Patel. Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat programme was initiated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on the birthday of Iron Man of India Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel on  October 31, 2015 which is also celebrated as National Unity Day. It aims to enhance interaction and  promote mutual understanding between people of different states/UTs through the concept of state pairing. The states carry out activities to promote a sustained and structured cultural connect in the areas of language learning, culture, traditions and  music, tourism ,  cuisine, sports and sharing of best practices. Every State and UT in the country would be paired with another State/UT for a time period. Tamil Nadu has been paired with Jammu,  Kashmir and Ladakh. There were youth interactions between the states for cultural exchange before the pandemic lockdown.  Now webinars and online interactions are being conducted to exchange information about pairing states. The same pairing of States/ UTs will continue till December 2020.  Apart from Tami Nadu and Jammu,  Kashmir  and Ladakh,  Puducherry has been paired with Daman-Diu, Madhya Pradesh : Manipur –Nagaland,  Himachal Pradesh : Kerala,  Maharashtra : Odisha,  Chandigarh : Dadra -Nagar Haveli,  Uttar Pradesh : Arunachal Pradesh – Meghalaya,  Punjab : Andhra Pradesh,  Goa : Jharkhand,  Bihar : Tripura-Mizoram,  Lakshadweep : Andaman-Nicobar,  Uttarakhand : Karnataka,  Haryana : Telangana,  Rajasthan : Assam,  Delhi : Sikkim and   Gujarat : Chhattisgarh.  There are lesser known historic places which should be highlighted so that youth of our nation will know about great cultural heritage of every state across centuries.   The War memorial at Rayanur in Karur district has been renovated by private club at a cost of Rs 3.33 lakh.  State Transport Minister Shri M R Vijayabaskar opened the renovated War memorial.  In the first century,  Karur then known as Karuvur  was ruled by Chera Kings. Karur Fort was built at the northern end of Amaravathy river then called as Anporure river. Tamil Nadu Archaeology department has found reminisces of Karur Fort in its excavations. Tipu Sultan had strengthened the Fort in 18th century. It is said that the Karur Fort was destroyed in Anglo-Mysore War in 1783 between Tipu Sutan and British forces. More than 19 British soldiers were killed in the second Anglo-Mysore War. The War Memorial was built in Rayanur in memory of warriors who lost their lives in the war. Karur has been built on the banks of river Amaravathi that was called Aanporunai during the Sangam days. The names of the early Chera kings, who ruled from Karur, have been found in the rock inscriptions in Aru Nattar Malai close to Karur. The Tamil Epic Silapathikaram mentions that the famous Chera King, Cheran Senguttuvan, ruled from Karur. After the early Cheras, Karur was conquered and ruled by Pandyas followed by Pallavas and later Cholas. Karur was ruled for a long time by Chola Kings, and the Naickers followed by Tippu Sultan . The British added Karur to their possessions after destroying the Karur Fort during their war against Tippu Sultan in 1783.

In each city and town there will be historically important places which should be unearthed through excavations. Youth clubs and Nehru Yuva Kendra students can join hands to rediscover and relish the enriching experience of exploring  Shreshta Bharat.

*******

(रिलीज़ आईडी: 1668110) आगंतुक पटल : 446