India has given birth to several bravehearts who have placed the nation above their own life and served her in various capacities. Such real-life heroes are honoured with Gallantry Awards, instituted by the Government of India, and are given away twice a year. But how many of us know about their bravery? To make students more aware of these inspiring stories, the Ministry of Education, Department of School Education and Literacy, along with the Ministry of Defence, launched the Veer Gatha Project and it commences from today, October 21.

Specifically for students from Classes III to XII, this project honours the sacrifices and acts of courage of the “officers/personnel of the Armed Forces, other lawfully-constituted Forces and Civilians”, as per a circular issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on October 14 for those schools who are affiliated to the Board. The project will go on till November 20, 2021.

As per the circular, students from Classes III to V will be required to write a poem or a paragraph of 150 words or paint a picture, while Classes VI to VIII can do the same but in 300 words and use multimedia presentation as well, Classes IX and X can go up to 750 words and Classes XI and XII can touch 1,000 words. There are two topics that remain the same across the board — 'If I had been (Name of the Gallantry Award winner), what would I have done for my nation?' and '(Name of the Gallantry Award winner) motivates me to...'.

Between October 21 to November 20, 2021, schools have been instructed to conduct the activities and between November 1 and 30, they have been asked to upload one best entry from each category (totally, no more than four entries per school) and upload it on the CBSE's Veer Gatha portal. As many as 25 best entries (six from each category and seven from the Class XI to XII category) will be selected. The winners will be awarded a cash prize Rs 10,000 and invited to the 2022 Republic Day celebrations in Delhi. What a prize to win!