School bands to perform at National War Memorial

School bands can now perform at the National War Memorial in Delhi to imbibe the values of patriotism, devotion to duty and courage.

The decision has been jointly taken by the Union ministries of defence and education.

The performances by school bands are likely to begin from February 22, ahead of the third anniversary of the National War Memorial. The national monument was built in 2019 to honour and remember soldiers of the Indian military who fought in armed conflicts of independent India.

The Union ministry of education has directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to prepare a schedule of school bands in consultation with the government of Delhi.

“The place, themes, tunes etc of the band can be decided in coordination with Directorate of National War Memorial and Museum, Headquarter Integrated Defence Staff keeping in view the sanctity of the memorial,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry has also requested the education departments of all states and Union Territories to select one band from the schools of their respective states to perform in coordination with National War Memorial and Museum as a part of the regular schedule.

The CBSE will coordinate with the schools for performances by their bands at the war memorial in coordination with the defence ministry.

“The objective of this initiative is to inculcate the values of patriotism, devotion to duty, courage and sacrifice among the school children and increase the participation of people, especially the youth so that they experience the various facets associated with the iconic war memorial,” the ministry said.

"It carries forward the vision of the Veer Gatha project which was jointly organised by ministries of defence and culture to raise awareness among children about the gallant stories of the war heroes and instil the feeling of nationalism in their formative years through enhanced exposure," it said.