‘Bharat ko Jano’ quiz, speech contest held at GNA University

In order to familiarise students with India’s rich cultural heritage and to inspire patriotism, Bharat Vikas Parishad Punjab West organised the state-level inter-school “Bharat ko Jano” quiz competition and a speech contest dedicated to the martyrdom of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji at GNA University, Phagwara.

The programme was held under the chairmanship of State President Vivek Sharma and Branch President Ravinder Gulati. Former Union Minister Som Prakash Kainth attended the event as the chief guest, while former National President of JCI and industrialist Mukhinder Singh joined as special guest.

In the inaugural address, Som Prakash Kainth said the Parishad’s patriotic projects serve as seeds of moral values for children. Industrialist Mukhinder Singh paid tribute to Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s supreme sacrifice and emphasised that connecting students with the country’s glorious history is an essential part of education.

The ceremony began with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp followed by the national song “Vande Mataram.” Quiz project directors Vikram Arora, Kankesh Gupta, Gopal Krishan and Dr Varinder Gogna tested the knowledge of participants from various cities in both junior and senior categories with questions based on Indian history, culture, rivers, geography and national heroes. Under the supervision of State Convener Satnam Arora, students presented their speeches on the martyrdom of the ninth guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji.

In the quiz competition, Kavish Gupta and Aditi Gupta from BCM Arya Model School, Ludhiana secured first position in the junior category, while Astik Gaba and Ankit Chaubey from Swami Sant Das Public School, Phagwara won in the senior category. In the speech contest, judges Dr Anita Gogna and lecturer Manpreet Kaur declared Manrajpreet Singh from BCM Arya Model School, Ludhiana as the Punjabi winner and Namrata Bansal from Kamla Nehru Public School, Chak Hakim, Phagwara as the Hindi winner.

The coordinators from Kapurthala and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, including Munish Gupta, lauded the efforts of students, along with State Organizational Secretary Harjinder Gogna, State Secretary Narinder Sharma and GNA University Dean Sameer Verma. Certificates prepared by calligrapher Hari Dev Joshi won appreciation for their artistic handwriting. Branch President Ravinder Gulati thanked the university management for excellent support and arrangements. All winning and participating students were honoured during the event.