LUCKNOW, JUNE 2 — The Uttar Pradesh government will launch a massive cultural campaign to connect the youth with national consciousness, staging grand theatrical productions based on historical heroes, freedom fighters, and iconic literary works across every district.
The initiative, designed by the Bharatendu Natya Academy under the guidance of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, will bring live theater to schools, universities, museums, and historical sites.
“Through this initiative, direct cultural outreach can be established among 5 to 10 lakh youth across the state,” Tourism and Culture Minister Jaiveer Singh declared while announcing the campaign.
The Minister asserted that the performances will provide new energy to patriotism, historical pride, and cultural unity, while simultaneously offering local artists a much larger platform to showcase their talent.
The campaign will feature ‘Anandamath’ and ‘Maharaja Suheldev’ as its flagship productions. Theater groups will also stage plays centered on iconic figures and historical milestones like ‘Jhansi Ki Rani’, ‘Bijli Pasi’, ‘Shivaji Maharaj’, the ‘Kakori Train Action’, and the ‘1857 Ki Kranti’. Literary masterpieces and biographical works by figures such as Veer Savarkar, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Munshi Premchand, and Suryakant Tripathi Nirala will also be adapted into productions lasting nearly two hours.
The government has structured a phased action plan to execute the campaign. The initial phase involves expert consultations and scriptwriting, followed by artist selection and specialized training in the second half of June. Intensive six-to-eight-hour daily rehearsals are scheduled from late June through July, alongside the finalization of technical elements like stage design and costuming.
Department officials affirmed that the first grand staging is scheduled for August 2 in Lucknow. Following the premiere, regular performances will tour educational institutions through November, before moving to historical and cultural venues between December and February.
To expand the scope of the campaign, the academy is inviting outstanding theater productions from both Uttar Pradesh and other states, with an application deadline set for June 20. Authorities maintained that a two-stage evaluation process will screen the scripts and recorded performances to select the top 15 to 20 plays for the wider tour.
