National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH) is observing the Communal Harmony Campaign and Fund Raising Week from 19^th to 25^th November 2018 and the Flag Day was celebrated today with enthusiasm and fervour. Publicity material like Flag stickers, wrappers, posters, brochures, pamphlets etc. were dispatched to about 1.23 lakh units for appropriately marking of this significant occasion all over the country during year 2018 including all States / UTs including all Ministries / Departments, Central Public Sector Undertakings, paramilitary organizations, Universities, educational institutions, Nationalized Banks, etc. Out of these one Lakh units were educational institutions.

In response to the appeal made by NFCH, programmes were organized by different stakeholders including educational institutions, public sector enterprises, Government Departments/ agencies, NGOs and voluntary organizations, etc. during the Week to promote the ethos of Communal Harmony and National Integration. The Week’s last working day today was observed as the Flag Day throughout the country. This was also utilized to generate financial support for destitute children affected by communal, caste, ethnic or terrorist violence.

Six children, two from Jammu & Kashmir and one each from Gujarat, Manipur, Bihar and Chhattisgarh, were invited by the Foundation along with their mothers/guardians and escorts (State Government representatives) to participate in the Communal Harmony Campaign Week & Flag Day celebrations. These children viz. Surjeet Kumar and Zafar Ullah Javid from Jammu & Kashmir; Yogeshwar Solanki from Gujarat; Km. Muktiyas from Manipur; Sravan Kumar from Bihar; and Km Kritika Yalam from Chhattisgarh were privileged to meet, greet and pin communal harmony flags on the persons of the Vice-President Shri M Venkaiah Naidu, Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh, Ministers of State for Home Affairs, Shri Hansraj Gangram Ahir and Shri Kiren Rijiju and Union Home Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba during the week. These children were taken on local sightseeing to Delhi and nearby places of historical, religious and cultural importance i.e. Rashtrapati Bhawan, India Gate, Qutub Minar, Lotus Temple, Rajghat, Lal Quila, Jama Masjid, Akshardham Temple, etc. They were very excited to see these places and immensely enjoyed their Delhi visit. It was lifetime experience for these children. The children were enthused to intermingle with their fellow friends coming from different states for this celebration.

To observe Communal Harmony Campaign Week & Flag Day 2018, these children were felicitated at a school in Delhi. This event provided a platform for interaction between students of various communities and these invited children. About 500 school children from different communities assembled on the occasion. The programme was presided over by Shri Manoj Pant, Secretary, NFCH.

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(Release ID: 1553632)