“Youth should know about role of armed forces”: Rajnath Singh at India Military Heritage festival

New Delhi [India], October 21 (ANI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday inaugurated the Indian Military Heritage festival at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi.

Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande also accompanied Rajnath Singh at the event.

Speaking at the event, the Defence Minister said “I would like to congratulate United Service Institution (USI) for trying to organise this festival for the first time. Those who will attend this Indian Military Heritage Festival will develop a curiosity to know more about these incidents (India’s military history) that took place in the last 1-2 decades. Youth should know about the role of our armed forces and they will get inspired by this.”

The Indian Military Heritage festival is a two-day event that got underway in the national capital today.

The two-day festival aims to celebrate India’s rich military culture and heritage that has evolved over the centuries, through conversations, art, dance, drama, story-telling and exhibitions. It will primarily bring forward different understandings and perspectives through panel discussions by eminent scholars, practitioners and serving as well as retired officers.

During the event, the Defence Minister also launched ‘Project Udbhav’, a joint collaboration of Indian Army and United Service Institution of India (USI), to promote indigenous discourse through exploration and integration of the country’s ancient strategic acumen into contemporary military domain.

The USI, India’s oldest defence think tank is conducting the ‘India Military Heritage Festival’.

“With 2022-2023 being the year of India’s presidency of the G-20. We are proud to be working in tandem with the Government of India’s strategic policies to affirm our position as a global powerhouse, a truly vibrant democracy, and a rising power that is working for the development of all countries in the global south,” the USI said.

The festival will also focus on Security and Self-Reliance and the vector of Atmanirbhar Bharat in the defence and military domains.

“The Indian Military Heritage Festival seeks to delve into India’s military history and heritage and showcase it to the world. In doing so, it takes pride in reinforcing India’s stature as an ancient civilisation with a rich military ethos and tradition of soldiering and warfighting going back centuries,” the USI added.