Mysuru: The 71st Independence Day celebrations were held in rainy conditions across the city yesterday, with District in-Charge Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa hoisting the National Flag at the Torch Light Parade Grounds in Bannimantap amid a light drizzle.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Dr. Mahadevappa recalled the contributions and sacrifices made by Freedom fighters, who have laid down their lives and those who had spent most of their lifetime inside jails.

He pointed out that at a time when the nation is facing various challenges, the principles propounded by our Freedom fighters would serve as a guiding light for achieving development. “If we strive unitedly by following the principles of our Freedom fighters, the days are not far when India becomes the most developed nation in the world,” Dr. Mahadevappa said.

Recalling that the Freedom Movement was a long struggle from the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny till 1947 when we gained our Independence, he said starting from Mangal Pande, thousands of people have laid down their lives to realise the dream of India.

Paying tributes to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar for coming up with a Constitution that provides equality to all citizens irrespective of their religion, caste, language and region, he said the Indian National Congress, along with lakhs of people and martyrs, had played a major role in the Freedom struggle.

Stating that Constitution ensured protection of the rights of people belonging to different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, the Minister said that at a time when democracy is falling apart in many countries, India is growing strong as the largest democracy, thanks to the Constitution.

Calling upon the people to emulate the unity displayed by Freedom fighters during the Freedom Struggle, he stressed on the need for maintaining unity for the development of India.

DC D. Randeep, City Police Commissioner Dr. A.S. Rao, SP Ravi D. Channannavar, ZAK Chairperson Mallige Veeresh, MyLac Chairman H.A. Venkatesh, Mayor M.J. Ravikumar and others were present.

Though Dr. Mahadevappa received a guard a honour from the Police contingent, the customary march past by various units of the Police and other armed forces was cancelled in view of the rains.

However, school children went ahead with their cultural programmes despite the drizzle, enthusiastically presenting dance sequences and a lot more, although some of the other cultural programmes planned for the celebrations were dropped due to rain.

Special children of Karunamayi School also participated in the celebrations. Over 300 children of Adhyayana High School in Shaktinagar presented a harmony dance performance to the tune of Negilayogi song. Over 400 children of St. Ann’s School, N.R. Mohalla, performed dance-drama on child and social issues, to the tune of Hindi songs.

High School students of Composite Government PU College, People’s Park, presented a dance portraying ‘Bharathambe.’ Also, children from various schools in the city and the taluk, performed a dance-drama with the theme ‘Unity in Diversity’.

Government employees absent: Though the District Administration had made attendance of all Government servants mandatory, the attendance was not on expected lines, although most of the top officials attended the celebrations. The District Minister distributed Rajiv Gandhi Health Cards to media representatives. The cards were issued by the Information and Public Relations Department.