India is a land of unity in diversity. India is a unique nation in terms of its diverse linguistic, religious, cultural, and social threads which are tightly held together in national identity. We are forgetting this brotherhood due to our diverted focus. An urgent need was felt to bring closer these dispersed threads.
To fulfil this need Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme has been launched by the central government as a cultural exchange programme between different states and/or union territories. The idea to create a cultural interaction between states was mooted by Indian Prime Minister Mr Narender Modi during the Rashtriya Ekta Divas held on 31st October 2015, to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He propounded that the diversity of India ought to be celebrated through mutual interaction and communication between different states and Union Territories. To initiate and facilitate this interaction all the States/UTs in India have been paired for an entire year or until the next pairing.
Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Programme
The states are directed to carry out activities to promote a sustained and structured cultural connection in the areas of language learning, culture, traditions, music, tourism, cuisine, sports and sharing of best practices, etc. The Ministry of Education has been designated as the Nodal Ministry for the coordination of the programme. The states and UTs perform activities in cohesion with the spirit of unity in diversity.
This connection will be carried forward through school and college students and teachers. Government and private institutions also take active participation to promote Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Programme. Selected students and teachers of both states visit each other under the programme. Online debates, conferences, quizzes and competitions are held between the home state ad paired state. With people-to-people contact, the Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat initiative has strengthened the bond of oneness among states of India.
Related Information:
Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat State Integration List
- Jammu & Kashmir
- Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh
- Himachal Pradesh & Kerala
- Uttarakhand & Karnataka
- Haryana & Telangana
- Rajasthan & West Bengal
- Gujarat & Chhattisgarh
- Maharashtra & Odisha
- Goa & Jharkhand
- Delhi & Sikkim & Assam
- Madhya Pradesh & Manipur & Nagaland
- Uttar Pradesh & Arunachal Pradesh & Meghalaya
- Bihar & Tripura & Mizoram
- Chandigarh & Dadra & Nagar Haveli
- Puducherry & Daman & Diu
- Lakshadweep & Andaman & Nicobar
Diversity and similarities between Delhi and Sikkim.
Different Ways of Mutual Interaction and Engagement under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Programme (EBSB)
- Online Conversation
- Dialogue Translation in the paired states’ language
- Words’ translation
- Food and recipes discussion
- Information about festivals
- Dresses and tradition
- Songs and Movies
- Dance and Music
- Weather and Seasons
- Films and Theatre Artists
- Politicians
- Authors and Writers
- Clothes and Fashion
- Marriage and Culture