Vande Mataram to rend air on Chauri Chaura centenary as UP targets world record

UP government plans to make around 50,000 students recite Vande Mataram in a bid to create a world record

The Uttar Pradesh government is gearing up to create a world record during the Chauri Chaura centenary celebrations, which will see thousands of children from across the state recite Vande Mataram from 10am on February 3 to 12 noon on February 4, said officials.

Students across the state have been asked to record their own clips of Vande Matram recitation and send it to their schools. (Sourced Photo)

The plan is to make around 50,000 students together sing Vande Mataram in a bid to make it to the Guinness Book of World Records. Currently, this record is held by a gathering of 20,000 who sang it together, said Vinay Kumar Pandey, director, secondary education in the state.

As part of the mission, thousands of students are recording video clips of their own recital of the first stanza of the patriotic song while standing in the salute pose. They are required to send the clips to their respective schools, which will be uploaded on a link to be made available by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The UP Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad has started preparations for the attempt. The principals of secondary schools in the state have been directed to prepare students for the exercise. They have been asked to ensure that the chosen students learn Vande Mataram and are able to recite the same flawlessly with correct pronunciation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Chauri Chaura centenary celebrations at Chauri Chaura in Uttar Pradesh on February 4 via video conferencing.

February 5 marks the centenary of the Chauri Chaura event, considered a landmark moment in the freedom struggle. This day, a hundred years ago, a crowd had set fire to a police station in protest against the police firing on peaceful agitators partaking in the non-cooperation movement on February 2, 1922. The incident resulted in deaths of several policemen and also a few protestors and it led to Mahatma Gandhi announcing the end of the non-cooperation movement against the British rule. The British government, in response, imposed martial law in the area and arrested hundreds of people.