More than 75,000 Indians simultaneously waved the national flag at the Jagdishpur town in Bihar's Bhojpur district on Saturday, breaking a record that was set by Pakistan 18 years ago when 56,000 Pakistanis waved their national flag at an event in Lahore.
The Indian national flag was waved at Jagdishpur for a full five minutes on the occasion of 164th death anniversary of Veer Kunwar Singh, the then king of Jagdishpur who is regarded as one of the heroes of the First War of Independence in 1857.
This event was organised as a part of the Union government's 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' initiative.
The event was attended by Union home minister Amit Shah, Union ministers R K Singh and Nityanand Rai, deputy chief ministers of Bihar Tarkishor Prasad and Renu Devi and BJP's Rajya Sabha MP and former Bihar deputy CM Sushil Modi, news agency PTI reported.
The politicians also waved the tricolour as an instrumental rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ was played.
At the event, the attendees were made to wear bands for physical identification and a camera trap was installed. The Guinness Book of World Records was present for supervision.
{{/usCountry}}At the event, the attendees were made to wear bands for physical identification and a camera trap was installed. The Guinness Book of World Records was present for supervision.
{{/usCountry}}The crowds applauded when the gigantic screen installed at the venue put the headcount of flag-wavers at 77,700, PTI further reported.
During the event, Amit Shah said that Veer Kunwar Singh fought the freedom struggle at the age of eighty, adding he cut off his hand and offered it to the Ganga, a report by HT's sister publication Live Hindustan said.
Shah also said that reminding the younger generation of the sacrifices made by freedom fighters was a key component of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' initiative.