PM Modi announces 'Meri Mati Mera Desh' campaign to honour Indian bravehearts

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced 'Meri Mati Mera Desh' campaign in order to honour the martyred bravehearts of the country in the run up to Independence Day. ' The announcement came during PM's monthly address on his radio show Mann Ki Baat. Modi said that with 'Amrit Mohatsav' resonating everywhere and August 15 near, a big campaign is being launched in the country — 'Meri Mati Mera Desh'.

He said the campaign will be launched to honour the martyred bravehearts and programmes will be organised across India in memory of those who laid down their lives for the country. «Special inscriptions will be installed in lakhs of village panchayats of the country in memory of these personalities,» Modi said. An 'Amrit Kalash Yatra' will also be taken out during this campaign, he said.

«This 'Amrit Kalash Yatra', carrying the soil in 7,500 'kalash' from villages and various corners of the country, will reach Delhi. This yatra will also carry plants from various parts of the country. From 7,500 kalash, soil and plants that will come, an 'Amrit Vatika' will be built close to the National War Memorial,» the Prime Minister said.

In his radio address, Modi also hailed the changes made by the government in the Haj policy in the past few years and said now more and more people are getting an opportunity to go for the annual pilgrimage. Over 4,000 women were able to perform Haj without 'Mehram' or a male companion which he said was a «big change», the prime minister said. He said Muslim women who recently came back from Haj wrote to him.

«Their Haj was very special as they performed the pilgrimage without 'Mehram'. Their number is not 50 or 100 but over 4,000. This is a big change,» Modi said while pointing out that earlier