President of India Witnesses Programme on Social Evil of Female Infanticide

The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil witnessed a ballet programme titled, "Smruti Sankalp Yatra" which included a cultural and musical presentation on the social evil of female infanticide and the environmental issue of global warming at Rashtrapati Bhavan today. The programme was presented by the Yuvak Biradari (Bharat) of Mumbai and supported by the Sangeet Natak Academy.

The programme highlighted the evil of female infanticide through a ballet called "Ajanmika", which combined folk and classical dance forms. The show also highlighted the pressing problem of global warming and also included a cultural presentation depicting India's freedom struggle from 1857 to 1947 through song and dance with ballet in various languages of the country.

Some 200 school children and about 40 professional theatre artistes performed in the show. The following schools were also associated with the show: - the Nalanda Nrutya Kala Mahavidyalaya, Mumbai, the Fulma Dance Academy, Vadodara, the R.D. Public School, New Delhi, the Prelude School, Agra and the Sumermal Jain School, New Delhi.

The Yuvak Biradari (Bharat) was formed in 1974 aimed at being an engine for social development and youth welfare. The organisation concentrates on the social, educational and cultural advancement of society.