Bhubaneswar: To mark the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, the Odisha government will organise a statewide collective singing of the national song in all educational institutions on January 12, coinciding with Swami Vivekananda Jayanti and National Youth Day.
On the same day, students will also take the Atmanirbhar Bharat Swadeshi Sankalp pledge. The programme is being coordinated by the Department of Odia Language, Literature and Culture, which has issued instructions to all District Collectors to ensure uniform implementation across the state.
As part of the preparations, a comprehensive Vande Mataram Training Programme was conducted across Odisha to enable proper and synchronised collective singing. The state was divided into five zones—Jeypore, Berhampur, Balasore, Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar—for the purpose of zonal-level training. These programmes were held between December 23 and December 31, 2025, in Berhampur, Balasore and Jeypore zones, followed by Sambalpur on January 2, 2026, and Bhubaneswar on January 3, 2026.
From each block, municipal corporation, municipality and notified area council, three teachers or lecturers—two from the school level and one from the college or university level—were nominated by the respective District Collectors to participate in the zonal training. The trained teachers will now act as master trainers and conduct council-level training programmes in their respective blocks and urban local bodies. The department has directed that all council-level training programmes be completed by January 10, ahead of the statewide observance.
On January 12, students in all educational institutions across Odisha will collectively sing Vande Mataram and recite the Atmanirbhar Bharat Swadeshi Sankalp pledge. One student from each institution will be nominated as an Atmanirbhar Bharat Ambassador. Various competitions will be organised for students on the occasion, and outstanding participants will be rewarded. Youth clubs across the state will also join the celebrations by singing Vande Mataram.
The Bhubaneswar zonal-level Vande Mataram Training Programme was held today at Utkal University in the presence of Minister of Odia Language, Literature and Culture Suryabanshi Suraj, who attended as the chief guest.
Addressing the gathering, the minister spoke about the historical background of Vande Mataram and its role in shaping India’s freedom movement. He said the song transformed the spirit of the national struggle and continues to instil courage, strength and patriotic consciousness by invoking Mother Bharat.
Ekamra MLA Babu Singh, Secretary of the Department of Odia Language, Literature and Culture Bijay Ketan Upadhyay, Khordha District Collector Amrit Ruturaj, Additional District Magistrate Pratap Chandra Beura, Odisha Sahitya Akademi Secretary Chandra Sekhar Hota and Utkal University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Yajneswar Dandapat were among those present. Noted musicians Rajani Kanta Mahapatra and Yamini Kanta Mishra, chief Vande Mataram trainer Niranjan Panda, Deepak Rout and others also attended the programme.
