President Mukherjee to host reception for freedom fighters on Aug.9

President Pranab Mukherjee will host a reception for freedom fighters on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of the Quit India Movement on August 9 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Freedom fighters from across the country will be invited to attend a reception (At Home) at the Rashtrapati Bhavan where they would be honoured and felicitated by the President in the presence of various dignitaries of the country.

Freedom fighters from following States/Union Territories across the country have been invited for the reception i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Daman and Diu and the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Since 2003, the President of India has been hosting an 'At Home' function in the Rashtrapati Bhavan to mark the anniversary of the Quit India Movement on 9th August of every year in honour of freedom fighters.

The Quit India Movement was launched on August 9, 1942. On August 8, 1942, the All India Congress Committee (A.I.C.C.) formally adopted in Bombay a resolution calling on the British to 'Quit India'. The next day national leaders including Gandhiji were arrested by the British. From that very day i.e. August 9, a spontaneous civil disobedience movement in response to Gandhiji's call for immediate independence spread all over the country.