TN schoolgirl wins national Veer Katha contest, invited to Republic Day parade in Delhi

MADURAI: A Birunda, a Class X girl studying in Government Model Higher Secondary School at Regunathapuram in Ramanathapuram district, will be a guest at the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi on Jan 26 as she won the national level Veer Katha competition.

The Veer Katha competition is jointly organised by the ministry of defence and the ministry of education every year. These ministries organise competitions like drawing, poetry, essay writing and multimedia presentations on topics such as tribal uprisings in the First War of Independence, freedom fighters including Rani Lakshmi Bai, and gallantry award winners of defence forces after Independence.

Around 1.76 crore students from 2.31 lakh schools across states and Union territories participated in it this year.

A total of 100 students from classes III-V, VI-VIII, IX-X and XI-XII were selected at the national level, with 25 students in each category.

Birunda, daughter of Ayyadurai, was selected as one of the 25 students from the classes IX-X category.

She wrote the essay under the guidance of G. Valarmathi, an English graduate teacher and librarian of the school. The essay’s title was ‘Rani Lakshmibai Came in My Dream and Desired That I Serve the Nation’.

Her mentor, Va larmathi, said Birunda won a cash prize of Rs 10,000 and was invited to be a guest at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi.

District chief educational officer A Chinnarasu, school headmistress S Yunaisi, and teachers congratulated the student and her mentor.