Nagpur: In the run-up to Independence Day Celebrations, Member of Parliament Shri Avinash Pande today raised a Special Mention in the Rajya Sabha, reminding the Government of the birth centenary of Rashtra Kavi Pradeep, a poet and patriot and put forth a request to commemorate the occassion. Here is the full text of his speech:
“Celebration of Rashtra Kavi Pradeep’s Birth Centenary
Kavi Pradeep, born Ramchandra Naryanji Dwivedi (6th February 1915 – 11 December 1998), is best known for the lyrics of his song “Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon” written as a tribute to the soldiers who had laid down their lives in the Sino-Indian War and was conferred the title of “Rashtra Kavi” by the Government. Smt Lata Mangeshkar’s maiden rendition of Kavi Pradeep’s immortal poetry at the National Stadium on 27th January 1963, famously moved our then Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to tears. Our current Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji also commemorated the 50th Anniversary of the song with Smt. Lata Mangeshkar last year, much before he became the Prime Minister.
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The appeal of the undying patriotism of his poetry cuts across political parties and affiliations. His patriotism even drove him to forego all royalty received from the sales of “Aye mere watan..” to the Defence Ministry as his contribution to the War Widow’s Fund. His other songs, including “Door hato aye duniya walon…”, “Chal chal re naujawan…”, and “Aao bacchon tumhe dikhayein…” earned him the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award in 1997 for a lifetime of contribution to Indian cinema. This being the centenary year of Kavi Pradeep’s birth, I request the Government to declare and commemorate 6th Februrary as Kavi Pradeep Divas and introduce his works as literary reading in school curriculum, to inculcate the same patriotism in the new generations.”
