Chidambaram administers national integration pledge

NEW DELHI - Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday administered a national integration pledge to officers and staff in the Ministry of Home Affairs on the last day of Communal Harmony Campaign Week here.

Several programmes were part of the activities during the week, with a specific theme for each of the seven days.

Meetings, symposia, seminars, special literary functions, cultural functions and other programmes formed part of the activities to highlight the theme.

National integration, welfare of minorities, linguistic harmony, weaker sections of society, cultural unity, women, and conservation were the themes for the week.

The Week is observed every year from November 19 to 25 to foster a spirit of patriotism, communal harmony and national integration. The last day of the week is observed as Flag Day.

The National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH), an autonomous organisation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, also organises communal harmony campaigns during the week.

The NFCH was registered on February 19, 1992, under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, with the main objective of providing assistance for the physical and psychological rehabilitation of child victims of communal, caste, ethnic or militancy violence, with special reference to their care, education and training besides promoting communal harmony, fraternity and national integration. (ANI)