September 2025
In short: India's culture, sports and awards this month — distilled for SI/Constable Prelims.
Current Affairs — India › Society, Culture, Sports & Awards · 14 min read · Free to read · English & Telugu
Bilingual study notes for the Andhra Pradesh Police SI & Constable exams (SLPRB AP) by AP Police Hub, a product of Anvil Academy.
An exhaustive, point-wise digest of September 2025's society, culture, achievements and awards news — Himachal Pradesh's 'fully literate' status, the first tri-service all-women sailing expedition, the Self-Respect Movement centenary, and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for Mohanlal.
Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917), whose 200th birth anniversary fell in 2025 — photograph published in 'India, Past and Present' (1890) · James Samuelson, via British Library / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
September 2025 — At a Glance
September 2025 brought Himachal Pradesh a literacy milestone, sent ten women officers on a nine-month tri-service sailing expedition, and marked two centenaries — the Self-Respect Movement and Dadabhai Naoroji's birth. Below is the exhaustive, exam-ready version of every society, culture and awards item from the month.
1. Society & Education
Himachal Pradesh declared 'fully literate'
- What — Himachal Pradesh (99.3% literacy) was declared 'fully literate', joining Goa, Ladakh, Mizoram and Tripura as the 5th such state/UT — under India's definition, 'fully literate' means a literacy rate above 95%, not 100%.
- ULLAS programme — ULLAS (Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society), launched 2022, targets adults 15+ who missed schooling; learners pass the Functional Literacy Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT) and are certified by NIOS; goal — 100% literacy by 2030 (aligned with SDG 4, NEP 2020).
- National context — PLFS 2023-24 estimated national literacy at 77.5%; ~22.3% of Indians 15+ still not literate, highest in Bihar (33.1%), Andhra Pradesh (31.5%) and Madhya Pradesh (28.9%).
Adi Sanskriti — a Digital Tribal University
- What — The Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched Adi Sanskriti — envisioned as the world's first Digital Tribal University and online marketplace, to preserve tribal culture and create livelihoods for India's 700+ tribal communities (10.45 crore, 8.6% of population, Census 2011).
- Components — Adi Vishwavidyalaya (45 online courses on tribal art/dance/music), Adi Sampada (5,000+ curated cultural documents) and Adi Haat (online marketplace linked with TRIFED).
Hindi Diwas
- What — Observed annually on 14 September, commemorating the Constituent Assembly's 1949 adoption of Hindi as the Union's official language; ministries receive the Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar.
- Significance — ~44% of Indians speak Hindi as a first language (Census 2011); it is the 3rd most-spoken language globally (after English and Mandarin).
2. Culture, Heritage & Achievements
Samudra Pradakshina — the first tri-service all-women sailing expedition
- What — Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flagged off Samudra Pradakshina, the world's first tri-service all-women circumnavigation sailing expedition, from the Gateway of India, Mumbai.
- Details — 10 women officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force will sail 26,000 nautical miles over 9 months aboard IASV Triveni (50-foot indigenous yacht), crossing the Equator twice and rounding the Capes of Leeuwin, Horn and Good Hope.
Self-Respect Movement centenary, and Dadabhai Naoroji's 200th anniversary
- Self-Respect Movement — 2025 marks the centenary of this movement launched in Tamil Nadu in 1925 by social reformer E. V. Ramasamy (Periyar), aiming for equal rights and social justice for non-Brahmin/marginalised communities — championed rationalism, self-respect marriages and women's rights.
- Dadabhai Naoroji — The 'Grand Old Man of India' (1825-1917), co-founder of the Indian National Congress and the first Indian elected to the British House of Commons (1892), exposed British economic exploitation through his "Drain Theory" (*Poverty and Un-British Rule in India*, 1901); as Congress President (1906), declared Swaraj the movement's ultimate goal.
Guru Tegh Bahadur's 350th martyrdom day, and Langkhun festival
- Guru Tegh Bahadur — Indian Railways commemorated the 350th martyrdom day of the ninth Sikh Guru (b. 1621, Amritsar); revered as a "saviour guru" for resisting forced conversions under Aurangzeb, he was executed in Delhi in 1675 — Shaheedi Divas is observed 24 November.
- Langkhun festival — The Tiwa tribe (Tibeto-Burmese, Assam-Meghalaya-Arunachal) celebrated this annual harvest festival — featuring 4-day bamboo worship in gratitude to Ramsa Devta — in Umsowai village, Karbi Anglong district, Assam.
National Archives of India, and Rosh Hashanah
- National Archives — NAI (originally the Imperial Record Department, 1891, Calcutta; now in Delhi) hosted the 50th Golden Jubilee Meeting of the National Committee of Archivists (est. 1953); holdings run in an unbroken series from 1748, digitised via the Abhilekh Patal portal.
- Rosh Hashanah — PM Modi greeted the Jewish community on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year marking the start of the "Ten Days of Repentance", culminating in Yom Kippur.
Places tied to culture and heritage in the news
| Place | Key fact |
|---|
| Sabarimala Temple (Kerala) | The Travancore Devaswom Board announced 'Global Ayyappa Sangamam' for the temple's development; known for its 18 sacred golden steps and inclusivity across faiths. |
| Betla National Park (Jharkhand) | Became India's first National Park to host an AI-enabled nature centre with VR/AR holograms; declared a park in 1986, part of the earlier Palamau Tiger Reserve. |
| Poompuhar (Tamil Nadu) | Tamil Nadu's Archaeology Department launched underwater explorations at this ancient port city (Kaveripattinam), a former Chola-dynasty capital. |
| Kodaikanal Dolmens (Tamil Nadu) | 5,000-year-old megalithic structures near this hill station reportedly face destruction from road construction and urban expansion. |
3. Awards & Personalities in the News
Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2023 — Mohanlal
- What — Veteran actor-director-producer Mohanlal (worked across Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi cinema; Padma Shri 2001, Padma Bhushan 2019) conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2023 — India's highest cinema honour.
- About the award — Instituted 1969, named for Dhundiraj Govind Phalke ('Father of Indian Cinema', whose 1913 film *Raja Harishchandra* was India's first full-length feature); comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, shawl and cash prize; first recipient — actress Devika Rani.
Kalaimamani, National Geoscience and SCOPE Eminence Awards
- Kalaimamani Awards — Tamil Nadu announced its Kalaimamani Awards (2021, 2022, 2023) — the state's highest civilian honour, meaning "gem of art", covering music, dance, drama and folk-art categories.
- National Geoscience Awards — President presented the 2024 National Geoscience Awards (instituted 1966 by the Ministry of Mines, formerly National Mineral Awards) for achievements in mineral exploration and geosciences.
- SCOPE Eminence Awards — President presented the 2022-23 SCOPE Eminence Awards, instituted by the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE, est. 1973), honouring Public Sector Enterprises as nation-builders.