National Sports Day 2021: It is observed on 29 August every year to commemorate the birthday of Indian hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand. Born on 29 August 1905 in present-day Prayagraj, UP, Major Dhyan Chand was the captain of the Gold medal-winning Indian hockey team at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. Let us read more about National Sports Award, its history, significance, and Major Dhyan Chand.
Sports are important for the physical and mental well being of humans. Individuals who play sports remain healthy. India has produced many sporting legends like PT Usha, also known as Udanpari, Sachin Tendulkar, also known as Master Blaster, and Major Dhyan Chand, also known as 'Hockey Wizard'.
National Sports Day is celebrated on 29 August every year to commemorate the birthday of Indian hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand. This article sheds light on Indian hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, history and significance of National Sports Day.
Major Dhyan Chand
Widely known as 'Wizard of Hockey', the greatest hockey player of India, Major Dhyan Chand Singh, was born on 29 August 1905 in present-day Praygraj, UP. After getting a basic education, Dhyan Chand joined the Indian army as a soldier in 1922.
Major Dhyan Chand was a true sportsperson and was motivated by Subedar Major Tiwari, who was himself a sports lover, to play Hockey. Dhyan Chand started playing hockey under his supervision.
Due to his outstanding performance in Hockey, Dhyan Chand was appointed as 'Lance Naik' in 1927 and was promoted to Nayak in 1932, and Subedar in 1936. The same year he Captained the Indian hockey team. He went on to become Lieutenant, Captain and was eventually promoted to Major.
Major Dhyan Chand's performance
Major Dhyan Chand was a great hockey player. If a ball stuck in his stick, it scored a goal. This was the reason that once his stick was broken during a match to check whether the stick has any magnet or something else inside it or not.
Major Dhyan Chand, was part of the three-time Olympic gold medalist Indian Hockey Team. At the Berlin Olympic Games of 1936, Dhyan Chand was elected the captain of the Indian Hockey team.
Major Dhyan Chand had scored more than 400 international goals in his career from 1926 to 1948 while scoring nearly 1,000 goals In his entire career.
In a bid to pay tribute to such a legendary player, the Government of India decided to celebrate his birthday as the National Sports Day in 2012.
Before this recognition, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan Award by the Government of India in 1956, the third-largest civilian honour in India.
National Sports Day Celebration
National Sports Day is celebrated extensively at the national level. It is organized every year in the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the President of India presents National Sports Awards to the outstanding players of the country. In 2020, the awards were presented virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the National Sports Award, players and former players are honoured with awards such as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award, and Dronacharya Award. Along with all these honours, the "Dhyan Chand Award" is also given on this day.
After the death of Major Dhyan Chand in 1979, the Indian Postal Department paid tribute to him and issued stamps in his honour. As a tribute to him, the National Stadium of Delhi has been renamed Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, Delhi.
National Sports Day: List of Awards
The following is the list of sports awards that are awarded on every National Sports Day, have a look!
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy
The Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy was founded in 1956–1957. It is awarded to a university for “outstanding performance in inter-university tournaments” over the previous year.
Arjuna Award
The Arjuna Award was founded in 1961. It is awarded to athletes who have shown “constant great performance” over the previous four years. “A bronze statue of Arjuna, a certificate, ceremonial dress, and a cash prize of Rs. 15 lakh” are included in the award.
Dronacharya Award
The Dronacharya Award, founded in 1985, honors trainers who “create medal winners at prestigious international championships.” “A bronze statue of Dronacharya, a certificate, ceremonial robe, and a cash prize of Rs. 15 lakh” are included in the award.
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna was founded in 1991–1992. It is awarded to athletes for their “most excellent performance by a sportsperson” during the previous four years. “A medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize of Rs. 25 lakh” are included in the award.
Dhyan Chand Award
The Dhyan Chand Award was founded in 2002. It is awarded to persons who have made a “lifetime contribution to the growth of sports.” “A Dhyan Chand statue, a certificate, ceremonial robe, and a monetary prize of ten lakh rupees” are included in the award.
Rashtriya Khel Prahotsahan Award
The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar was founded in 2009. It is awarded to private and public organizations, as well as individuals, who have “played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development” over the last three years.
Read India Celebration (International) is not a competition but a grand stage to celebrate readers, knowers, gyani’s, vidyavan and leaders from India and across the world. It’s an annual Readership and Leadership festival for school (standard 3rd – 12th) & college (undergraduate & graduate) students. It is a unique initiative for students to indulge in a transformative non-academic reading, problem solving and leadership experience. A platform for students from all backgrounds, geographies, cultures, societies to share knowledge, opinions, discuss ideas & solutions to issues that matter to them. A platform to celebrate knowledge and propagators of Gyan and Independent Thinking (Jagruth Swatantra Soonch) based culture. It’s a stage to reinforce the value and importance of Gyan & Independent Thinking as a means to prosperity & peaceful coexistence.
A stage to remind students that our ignorance, ignorant people & ignorant societies are the greatest threat to our own wellness, humanity and the ecosystem we live in. RIC is a platform to empower Shikshit (literate) to become Vidyavan. A platform where every participant is a winner in their own way.
RIC 2021 – Read, Think, Act – Is to Enable / Enhance / Empower the Read (3R’s), Think (Independent), Act (Intelligent) factor in students for success…
Read focuses on 3 R’s
a. Reading Books
b. Reading Self
c. Reading Situations
2. Think focuses on 3 things which can be done to get you where you want to be
3. Act focuses on doing 3 things on a daily basis for conscious & continuous improvement
Participate in Read India Celebration 2021 (International)
Read – Read a book or research on a topic (refer to the proposed list of 25 themes / topics below; students are free to choose any book / topic of their choice)
Submit / Upload below 2 files i.e. a & b to RIC website from student dashboard (Upload Files Tab after you Login in to RIC:
a. Doc file: A 2 page summary (PDF or MS Word doc)
– Section#1 / Page1: Summarize the message & learnings in the book / Independent views on the research topic / theme (Minimum 3 Pros & Cons + conclusion) in your own words (*Either book or research not both)
– Section#2 / Page2: Describe and propose a solution to any problem of your choice from “Upload Files tab in students dashboard”
b. Video file: Make a 1 to 2 minutes video about the message & learning from the book / research topic starting with a self-introduction
* Submit both doc & video file at the same time i.e. select 2 files and save by 15Sep2021 from students dashboard (Upload Files Section)
*For students in India, Hindi & English language submissions are allowed.
Note: Students of all nationalities from around the world can participate. International submissions only in English language.
Timelines for RIC 2021:
Last date for student registrations – Aug 31st, 2021
Last date for student submissions – Sep 15th, 2021
Round #2 screening begins for 100 qualifiers (could move subject to volume of participants) – Sep / Oct, 2021
Leadership coaching sessions for round #2 qualifiers – Oct / Nov, 2021
Grand Finale for 4 finalists in each category – Dec 2021
Vision
Transition to Vidyavan (knowledge based) society from a Shikshit (literate) society.
Why Read India Celebration?
“Only knowledge-based cultures manifest into knowledge-based economies which pave the way to prosperity and harmony”. This initiative is to sow/enhance seeds of “Gyan and Leadership through Readership (i.e. reading books & self)” at school and college levels. From a known we can get to the unknown, never the other way round. No knowledge, no wellbeing is one of the key messages of RIC. For every person / society the journey to growth & success begins from knowing where they are? To keep it simple, only knowledge-based cultures can be progressive.
Read books & ‘Self” to experience how reading initiates us into knowledge & all-round growth. Just to remind (according to most global researches), all leaders in the world are readers and same is the case with successful people. The connection between vidya, readership & success is well established, world over. Reading books broadens & deepens the knowledge base and Reading Self leads to Knowing Self (i.e. knowing our strengths, priorities, areas of improvements, path of pursuance, happiness, pockets of distress, ignorance and much more) and Knowing Self is the basis to Leading Self > Living Life!
*Remember, ignorance is bliss followed by distress. Independent thinking & gyan (/knowledge) are not an option for an individual but the only path to growth, prosperity and harmony!
Nominated book for the year 2021 – Leading Self & Beyond (Download eBook)
Proposed Topic for the year 2021 – ”Use, Addiction and Abuse of Technology” – Can technology potentially empower (effective use) or hamper youth (addiction / abuse) of nations / world?
Why this topic for 2021?
Children & youth worldwide are increasingly spending more time on technology, gadgets, internet, gaming, social media, TV etc. with the advent of the Corona pandemic. According to research, children and youth all over the world are exposed to enormous risks & danger with increased exposure to technology and the only viable solution is increased awareness amongst students and youth who can draw the line between use and abuse, utility and futility of technology.
Cadence & Rules for RIC 2021
Students can read the nominated book “Leading Self & Beyond” (eBook can be downloaded from http://www.readindia.info / http://www.leadingself.net or read any book of their choice on the nominated topic or a topic of their own choice (e.g. changes in lifestyle due to corona pandemic, difference between Shiksha (literacy) & Vidya (education), Measure of Education, Knowledge based societies Vs Commerce based societies, Sports & youth, Role of education in evolution of a society etc.) and
Word submission i.e. Summary / views & findings / message & learnings from the book / topic should not be more than 2 A4 size pages, hand written or typed including 1 novel idea to solve any household /street / community / regional / national / international issue (e.g. Impact of ignorant leaders on societies/nations, commercially driven public policies, agrarian problems, drying of rivers, digital media propaganda, social media misinformation campaigns, depletion of ground water levels, traffic problems, decongestion of cities, obstruction to normal life due to street protests, river/air pollution, sea contaminations etc. Upload to the readindia.info website from students dashboard.
Video Submission: Start with self-introduction and should not be more 2 minutes. Summarize the written in voice format.
> Submissions will be evaluated for a total of 100 points (i.e. 20 points each for content, communication, research rigor / depth in understanding of the topic, creativity in solving the problem they chose to address & Video submission). Note: If the selected topic is of student’s own choice, evaluation will still happen for 100 points, but the evaluation criteria will be at the discretion of the evaluators. Choice of topic, originality & depth of analysis, summarization and the uniqueness of the idea in solving the issue will get the highest weightage.
*Reiterating – Originality, Research Rigor, Communication, Independent Thinking, Views & Creativity in the submission will be key.
> Top 100 students will qualify for round 2 from the online submissions (i.e. one pager, which can be written in any of the two languages i.e. Hindi or English) in each category i.e. School & College resp.
Special feature of RIC 2021 for round #2 qualifiers – Leadership coaching sessions by experts
Academician – Dr. Pradeep Kumar Ramancharla (Professor, AO – IIIT, Hyderabad)
Global Corporate Leader – Raj Panishetty (IT Automation Head / Senior Vice President of a Global Bank based out of New York)
> Out of the 100 qualified students in round 2, 4 participants from each category (i.e. Category 1 – 5 to 7 Grade; Category 2 – 8 to 10 Grade, Category 3 – 11 to 12 Grade, Category4 – Undergrad & Graduates will make it to the RIC2021 Grand Finale which will be a speech & questionnaire round + 1 Wild Card entry
> Grand Finale shall be organized in the month of Dec 2021. Details on the date, time, technology platform for the grand finale to be confirmed in the month of Nov 2021.
Proposed Themes / Topics for the RIC 2021
Road ahead for Humanity – Knowledge Based Culture Vs Commerce Based Culture?
Leadership Styles – Values Or Valuables; Greed Or Honesty; Service Or Grandeur
Entrepreneurs Vs Job Seekers (Risk Vs Comfort?)
Creativity Vs Knowledge Vs Logic
Top priorities for state – Education, Health Care, Nature Care & Employment Creation?
Merit Based Society Vs Group or People Controlled Society – Pros & Cons!!
Beliefs Based Society Vs Independent Thinking Society – Merits & Demerits!!
Technology for Evolution (choice) Vs Technology for Devolution (addiction & abuse)?
Between Use and Abuse of Natural Resources – How to strike a balance?
Corona – Crisis Vs Opportunity Vs Punishment?
People in Policy – Courage (& the price to be paid) Vs Fear (& consequences)
A Progressive Society – Is it People or State driven?
A cultural shift to nurture creativity – From being part of the problem (/silent) to being part of the solution (think & experiment solutions!)
Leaders – How to draw the line between need & greed?
Is there a need to introduce a global citizen element in the school education system keeping the local flavors?
Indian Education Systems
Global Education Systems
The road to economic recovery for nations / world post Covid-19
Fixing accountability on countries spreading pandemics / global unrest
The need for stronger & accountable global bodies to deal with 21st century pandemics / global challenges
Is there a need to add a course / subject on Emotional Intelligence as part of the curriculum for high school students globally?
A student’s guide to preparing for the Unknowns & Uncertainties in life!
Is Knowledge the only thread which can keep the world united & harmonious in diversity?
Why do Ignorance & Intelligence go together in the “I / Self”? and how does one know from where the self is operating from (Intelligence or Ignorance?)?
Are Ignorant Leaders the greatest threat to our planet?
India has 28 states and 8 union territories as of now. India is 7th largest country in the world in terms of land area and also the 2nd largest country in terms of population. New Delhi is the capital of India. This article is based on the smallest and largest state / UT of India in terms of area and population. The complete details are given below:
Largest State of India 2021
Many people don't no about the largest state of India by population wise and area wise and largest union territory of India by population wise and area wise. There are total 28 states and 8 union territories (UT's) in India as now. The largest state in terms of area is Rajasthan (342,239 Km2) followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Uttar Pradesh is most populus state is India followed by Maharashtra and Bihar. Here we have covered the list of the Indian States, Union Territories with area and population.
Largest State in India in terms of Area
Rajasthan is the largest state in India in terms of area which covers 342,239 km2 of land area. As per the Census 2011, the total population of Rajasthan is 68548437. The list of states in terms of area is given below:
S. No.
State Name
Area (km2)
1
Rajasthan
342,239
2
Madhya Pradesh
308,245
3
Maharashtra
307,713
4
Uttar Pradesh
240,928
5
Gujarat
196,024
6
Karnataka
191,791
7
Andhra Pradesh
162,968
8
Odisha
155,707
9
Chhattisgarh
135,191
10
Tamil Nadu
130,058
11
Telangana
112,077
12
Bihar
94,163
13
West Bengal
88,752
14
Arunachal Pradesh
83,743
15
Jharkhand
79,714
16
Assam
78,438
17
Himachal Pradesh
55,673
18
Uttarakhand
53,483
19
Punjab
50,362
20
Haryana
44,212
21
Kerala
38,863
22
Meghalaya
22,429
23
Manipur
22,327
24
Mizoram
21,081
25
Nagaland
16,579
26
Tripura
10,486
27
Sikkim
7,096
28
Goa
3,702
Largest Union Territory in India in terms of Area
Jammu and Kashmir is the largest union territory in India in terms of area which covers 125,535 km2 of land area. The list of union territories in terms of area is given below:
S. No.
Union Territory Name
Area (km2)
1
Jammu and Kashmir
125,535
2
Ladakh
96,701
3
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
8,249
4
Delhi
1,484
5
Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu
603
6
Puducherry
479
7
Chandigarh
114
8
Lakshadweep
32.62
Largest State in India: Map
Largest State in India by Population
Uttar Pradesh is the largest state in India in terms of population. As per the details from Census 2011, the total population of Uttar Pradesh is 199,812,341. Uttar Pradesh has the 240,928 km2 of land. Sikkim is the least populus state in India. The list of states in terms of population is given below:
S. No.
State Name
Population (As per Census 2011)
1
Uttar Pradesh
199,812,341
2
Maharashtra
112,374,333
3
Bihar
104,099,452
4
West Bengal
91,276,115
5
Andhra Pradesh
84,580,777
6
Madhya Pradesh
72,626,809
7
Tamil Nadu
72,147,030
8
Rajasthan
68,548,437
9
Karnataka
61,095,297
10
Gujarat
60,439,692
11
Orissa
41,974,218
12
Kerala
33,406,061
13
Jharkhand
32,988,134
14
Assam
31,205,576
15
Punjab
27,743,338
16
Chhattisgarh
25,545,198
17
Haryana
25,351,462
20
Uttarakhand
10,086,292
21
Himachal Pradesh
6,864,602
22
Tripura
3,673,917
23
Meghalaya
2,966,889
24
Manipur
2,855,794
25
Nagaland
1,978,502
26
Goa
1,458,545
27
Arunachal Pradesh
1,383,727
29
Mizoram
1,097,206
31
Sikkim
610,577
Largest Union Territory in India by Population
Delhi, the capital of India is the largest union territory in India in terms of population. As per the details from Census 2011, the total population of Delhi is 16,787,941. The list of states in terms of population is given below:
S. No.
UT Name
Population (as per 2011 Census)
1
Delhi
16,787,941
2, 3
Jammu and Kashmir + Ladakh
12,541,302
4
Puducherry
1,247,953
5
Chandigarh
1,055,450
6
Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu
5,86,956
7
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
380,581
8
Lakshadweep
64,473
Purpose of this Article
Most of the Indians doesn't know about the largest state and union territory of India & smallest state and union territory of India. As a citizen of India, we should know about the Indian states & boundaries. The largest state and union territory of India had been asked in different competitive exams like SSC & State exams. So every aspirants of Govt.exams show know the answer of this question.
