The high-level committee headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held its first meeting here today which was attended by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, chief ministers of several states and eminent academicians.

It prepared a 12-point plan to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda which falls in 2012. The Prime Minister announced setting up of a National Implementation Committee under the chairmanship of Mukherjee to work out further details of programmes.

The panel mooted the idea of establishing a Vivekananda Chair at the Chicago University, where Swami Vivekananda gave his famous speech on Hinduism at the Parliament of World’s Religions on September 11, 1893. Creation of Vivekananda chairs in universities, preservation of some important heritage sites, encouraging students to visit such sites by offering concessions, organising conferences, lectures and seminars and establishing chairs in overseas universities are some of the suggestions which were discussed at the meeting.

Bringing his ideas into current discourse, countering current perception of religion as violent and divisive and giving emphasis on secular aspects of religion were also discussed, an official release said.

The committee focused on him as a youth icon and also his relevance in the 21st century. It was also decided that his contributions to gender issues should be highlighted through his writings and letters and special programmes for women’s education and health. The celebrations will focus on involving youth through competitions, interactions and study circles. The issue of “reprinting complete works in improved form and abridged versions for different segments” also figured in the meeting.

Reprinting Romain Rolland’s biography of Swami Vivekananda, developing proper understanding of Yoga preached by Vivekananda and propagating his message through All India Radio and television were also discussed.