This Maharashtra village sings the national anthem every morning

Mulchera in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district was once infamous as a Maoist-affected village. To wipe out the image, people there have started a new practice: they start their day by singing the national anthem together.

Reports said the villagers have been doing this since August 15, and that every morning at 8.45 the residents, including shop owners and small traders and police personnel gather and sing the anthem.

"It's a good initiative. Villagers experience a sense of collective patriotism everyday by singing the national anthem," PTI quoted Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police Ankit Goyal as saying.


The anthem singing in Mulchera was reportedly started under the initiative of Assistant Police Inspector (API) Ashok Bhapkar.

Just before the anthem starts, police officials go around playing patriotic songs for a minute or so. That is the signal for people to get read.

When the anthem starts, people stop their vehicles wherever they are and join in. Even the two state transport buses plying in the village stop their engines, and the staff and passengers join in the singing.

The PTI report said this practice in Mulchera has also now inspired people in the neighbouring village of Vivekanandpur to start it.

Mulchera village has a population around 2,500 people - some of them tribals and some people hailing from West Bengal. It is about 900 kilometres from state capital Mumbai.

Mulchera is the third village in the country to sing the anthem every morning. Telangana's Nalgonda village and Bhilwadi village in Sangli district of Maharashtra were the earlier ones to start the practice

Police officials were quoted as saying that the singing of the anthem has given the villagers new energy and increased their sense of patriotism. The village has also seen a dip in the number of disputes. That could be because of the increased feeling of fraternity.