During this, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was also present.

Congratulating the young winners, the defence minister commended their bravery, zeal and creativity, and expressed confidence that the young generation will provide a new and better direction not only to themselves but also to the society and the Nation.

Applauding the role of Veer Gatha in inspiring values of patriotism in the young students, Rajnath Singh said, such projects will play a crucial role in infusing values of morality and bravery along with education among students. In the recent past, the government has taken several steps, which will help in the all-round development of our children in the coming times, he added.

Highlighting the growing popularity of Veer Gatha, the minister said, in such a short span of time this project has gained immense popularity, and has become a movement in itself.

“Last year there were 8 lakhs participation, whereas this time the number of these entries has crossed 19 lakhs. Within a small span of time, it has been able to reach millions of children. This is how a movement occurs,” said Rajnath Singh.

The defence minister underscored that crores of children are indirectly connected with this project which is also the aim of this project. Connecting with the children of the country, and keep them motivated is what nation building is, he added.

“Integration is the first requirement for any construction, be it a building, a society, an organization, or a nation. Without the process of integration, nothing can be built. The project is connecting the children across the country with the long-standing heritage of Indian-ness, and is building their personality. The better we build the personality of the children, the better and stronger the nation-building will be,” said Rajnath Singh.

Underlining the importance of valour in day to day life, the defence minister said, “When I talk about valour and courage, I do not only mean the valour and courage at the battlefield. These virtues are absolutely necessary in day to day life. Only using arrows and swords is not courage. If there is wrong somewhere, then raising voice against it is also an act of great bravery and courage.”

He further added that great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Chandrashekhar Azad, Khudiram Bose, Ashfaq Ullah Khan kept on speaking the truth throughout their life, no matter what cost they had to pay for it.

Rajnath Singh also suggested that such felicitation should also be organised at state and district level as well, so that the project reaches out to more number of people.