The Meta Academic Cell at SiliconTech, the engineering institute of Silicon University, organized ‘Azad Hind’, a series of competitions to celebrate the 78th Independence Day of India on 15 August 2024.
‘Azad Hind’, an annual gathering organized by the Meta Academics Cell, is a significant event that fosters a deep sense of gratitude, pride, and patriotism for our nation. Coinciding with the celebration of Independence Day, this event provides a meaningful opportunity for participants to honour and reflect on the freedom and heritage that define our country.
This year, the Meta Academics Cell organized two competitions under ‘Azad Hind’ – a speech competition and an essay writing competition- in three languages viz. English, Hindi, and Odia. These events were designed to encourage students to engage in constructive discussions, enhance their speaking and writing skills, build confidence, and connect with a broader audience.
The speech competition was based on the topic ‘Indian Independence and Our Inclusion in the Olympics’ and the essay writing competition focused on the topic ‘Spread of Spiritualism Before and After Independence’. Open to all students, the event showcased numerous outstanding speeches and exceptional essay submissions. After a rigorous evaluation process, the judges finalized the winners. For the speech competition, key judging criteria included adherence to the time limit, delivery style, and content quality. In the essay writing competition, the primary criteria were adherence to the word limit and the originality of the submissions, with plagiarism being a major disqualifying factor.
A total of sixty students participated in the event. Barsha Baishakhi (CEN, 2025) won the speech competition, with Anuradha Nayak (CST, 2027) as the runner-up. In the essay writing competition, Anwesa Acharya (EEE, 2025) emerged as the winner, while Ashutosh Patra (EEE, 2026) secured the runner-up position. With the organizing team’s dedication and the students’ enthusiastic participation, the event unfolded seamlessly and was enjoyable and engaging.
