1857 freedom fighters

[Hindustani78]

Posted at: Jan 2, 2018, 12:10 AM; last updated: Jan 2, 2018, 12:10 AM (IST)
Govt nod to 1857 heroes’ memorial in Ambala
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/haryana/govt-nod-to-1857-heroes-memorial-in-ambala/522141.html


Tribune News Service

Ambala, January 1

With administrative approval given to the project to built ‘Shaheed Samarak’ to commemorate the sacrifice of 1857 revolt heroes by the Information, Public Relations and Languages Department, the work on the long pending project is expected to start soon.

While holding a ‘Janta Darbar’ here at the PWD rest house in Ambala Contonment, Health Minister Anil Vij directed the higher officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) to float a tender for the project soon. He said the work on this project would be started as soon as the tender process was completed.

“With the completion of the project, Ambala Cantonment will have a unique identity at international level,” he said.

Vij has shown personal interest in the construction of the ‘samarak’ and had also directed the officials concerned repeatedly to expedite the process.

The Ambala Municipal Corporation has already transferred 22-acres of land to the Information and Public Relations Department on Ambala-Delhi National Highway, near IOCL depot, for this project. The project was first conceived in 2010 by the then Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda. However, due to political wrangling, the foundation stone had to be called off thrice from 2010-14.It was finally laid by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in May 2015.

The previous government had got its design prepared, but the incumbent government has got it changed. The design of the monument has now been prepared by a national-level designing agency. Along with all the required facilities, arrangements will be made for a helipad for the convenient transportation of tourists.

The 1857 revolt was the first struggle for freedom which was started at Ambala Cantonment on May 9. Thus, it had been decided that a memorial would be built here. The approximate cost of the project is Rs323 crore.

The memorial will have a museum to display weapons used by the war heroes, children park, an auditorium and a helipad. The auditorium hall will have a capacity to host 500 people.

Besides this, there is a plan to build a library, audio-video museum, gallery and food court as well.

Laser shows will also be showcased at night to present the life of revolutionaries and the events of the Revolution of 1857. Project approved in 2010

• The project was first conceived in 2010 by the then Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
• However, due to political wrangling, the foundation stone had to be called off thrice from 2010-14.
• It was finally laid by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in May 2015.
• The previous government had got its design prepared, but the incumbent government has got it changed.
• The design of the monument has now been prepared by a national-level designing agency.

 

[Hindustani78]

Chennai , January 05, 2018 00:59 IST
Updated: January 05, 2018 10:44 IST
http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...le-in-quit-india-movement/article22369990.ece

Cautions students against seven deadly sins that can destroy a nation

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Thursday said the people of Tamil Nadu had played a significant role in the Quit India movement.

Mr. Purohit was delivering the inaugural address at a seminar organised by the University of Madras’ Department of History. The opening of ‘The 75th Anniversary of the Quit India Movement: Remembering the Role of Tamil Nadu’ was attended by State Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbazhagan and university Vice-Chancellor P. Duraisamy.

“The Gandhian leader Kamarajar, simple and non-violent in approach, exhorted the freedom-loving people of Tamil Nadu to fight whole-heartedly against the British,” said the Governor. He said that several leaders from the State were imprisoned; Kamaraj’s mentor S. Satyamurti died as a result of torture during imprisonment.

“The students who were their followers then came to the forefront. Presidency College, Pachaiyappa’s College, Loyola College and Madras Christian College led the strikes and demonstrations. Annamalai University had to be closed. Queen Mary’s College was the first women’s college to organise a protest in the southern region,” said the Governor.

The Governor briefly went off script, moving away from a prepared text to advise students on the seven deadly sins according to Mahatma Gandhi. He was referring to an October 22, 1925 article in Young India which talked of the seven deadly sins that can destroy a nation.

“Today also, they are relevant. Particularly students - again I repeat, please note it down,” prefaced the Governor, who runs The Hitavada, a newspaper started by Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

Mr. Purohit went on to read the seven deadly sins; he lingered on some. “Pleasure (without conscience) has got no meaning....smoking, going to clubs....that should not happen. Politics without principle: principle is greater than politics,” he said and added that most of the politicians were corrupt nowadays.

“Not just the Quit India Movement, the contribution of Tamil Nadu to the freedom movement is significant. In fact, we were among the pioneers,” said Minister Anbalagan. He said that Tamil Nadu had produced several individuals who opposed the British much before most well-known resistance movements began. “Before the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, we had the 1806 Vellore Mutiny. Before the formation of the Indian National Congress, we had the Chennai Swadeshi Sangam,” he said.

 

[Hindustani78]

May 25, 2018 00:15 IST
Updated: May 24, 2018 23:58 IST
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/remembering-azad/article23980998.ece?homepage=true

His legacy is an antidote to majoritarian chauvinism
On February 22, 1958, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru went on air to announce: “Aaj hamara Mir-e-Karavan chala gaya (today we have lost the leader of our caravan).” He was referring to India’s first Education Minister Maulana Azad who had just passed away. Azad was the youngest and the longest serving President of the Congress during the freedom struggle.

Born in 1888 as Mohiuddin, he was a man of many parts. A precocious student, home-schooled and self-taught, he completed his religious curriculum at the age of 16. But his interpretation of Islam was not conventional. He believed in independent thinking based on reason and was critical of what he called “the shackles of conformity” and literal interpretations of Islamic texts. At a very early age he began a remarkable career in journalism. His writings and speeches in Urdu, unparalleled for their eloquence and sophistication, earned him the sobriquet Abul Kalam (father of speech), which became his adoptive name.

He found no contradiction between being an Islamic scholar and an ardent Indian nationalist. He considered the fight for an independent, united India a part of his religious creed. Azad declared, “I [as a Muslim] am proud of being an Indian. I am part of the indivisible unity that is Indian nationality. I am indispensable to this noble edifice and without me this splendid structure is incomplete.”

Beginning in 1912 with the publication of his weekly Al-Hilal, Azad threw himself whole-heartedly into the independence struggle. He joined the Congress in 1920, when Gandhi launched the non-cooperation agitation in conjunction with the Khilafat movement, and became its president in 1923. Particularly committed to building bridges between Hindus and Muslims, he opposed separate electorates, which he attributed to the British policy of divide and rule. He vigorously challenged the separatist ideology of the Jinnah-led Muslim League, which he termed a “death knell” for Indian Muslims, earning him the derogatory epithet “Congress’s Muslim show boy” from Jinnah. During the Quit India movement, he was imprisoned from 1942 to 1945 with other senior leaders of the party. He led the Congress delegation to the failed Shimla Conference, convened to break the impasse between the Congress and the Muslim League.

Despite the Congress’s acceptance of Partition in 1947, Azad’s opposition to it remained undiminished. He wrote 10 years after Partition in India Wins Freedom, “As a Muslim, I for one am not prepared for a moment to give up my right to treat the whole of India as my domain and share in the shaping of its political and economic life. To me it seems a sure sign of cowardice to give up what is my patrimony and content myself with a mere fragment of it.” No proponent of Akhand Bharat could have said it better. It is unfortunate that Maulana Azad’s legacy, a superb antidote to majoritarian chauvinism so rampant currently, is all but forgotten today.

Mohammed Ayoob is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Relations, Michigan State University

 

[Hindustani78]

Prime Minister's Office
25-May, 2018 14:20 IST
PM visits Santiniketan, attends Convocation of Visva Bharati University, inaugurates Bangladesh Bhavana

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today visited Santiniketan in West Bengal.

Prime Minister Modi received the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, at Santiniketan. Paying homage to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, the two leaders signed the visitors’ book. The two leaders then attended the Convocation of the Visva Bharati University.


Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister described India’s democratic system of governance as a great teacher, which inspires over 125 crore people. He said it was his good fortune to be among the learned people on this sacred land of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.


He congratulated the students who received degrees today. He said that all those who studied at this University have not just received a degree, but have also become inheritors of a great legacy.


The Prime Minister said that the teachings of the Vedas, which describe the entire world as one nest, or one home, are reflected in the values of Visva Bharati University.


Welcoming the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, he said that India and Bangladesh are two nations, whose interests are linked to mutual cooperation and coordination among each other.


The Prime Minister said that Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore is respected widely across the world. He recalled that he had the opportunity to unveil a statue of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in Tajikistan three years ago. He said Tagore is a subject of study in Universities across the world even today. He described Gurudev as a global citizen.


The Prime Minister said that Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore always wanted Indian students to keep abreast of developments across the world, even as they kept their Indianness intact. He appreciated Visva Bharati University for its efforts at skill development and education in nearby villages. He encouraged the University to expand this effort to 100 villages by its centenary year in 2021. He also called upon the University to work towards overall development of these 100 villages.


The Prime Minister said that institutions such as Visva Bharati University have a key role to play in the creation of a New India by 2022. He outlined initiatives taken by the Union Government in the education sector.


Speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of Bangladesh Bhavan, the Prime Minister described it as a symbol of the cultural ties between India and Bangladesh.


He said that this University and this sacred land have a history that has seen the freedom struggles of both India and Bangladesh. He added that it is a symbol of the shared heritage of the two countries.


He said that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman is respected equally in both India and Bangladesh. Similarly, he added that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi are respected in Bangladesh as much as in India.


In the same vein, he said that Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore belongs to Bangladesh, as much as to India.
The Prime Minister said that Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's credo of Universal Humanism is reflected in the Union Government's guiding principle of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas." He said that the shared resolve of India and Bangladesh, against cruelty and terrorism, will continue to inspire future generations through the Bangladesh Bhavan. He recalled the felicitation of Indian soldiers by Bangladesh in New Delhi last year.


The Prime Minister said that the last few years have marked a golden period in relations between the two countries. He mentioned the resolution of the land boundary issue, and various connectivity projects.


He asserted that the two countries have similar goals, and are taking similar paths to achieve those goals.


***

 

[Hindustani78]

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister paid homage to BhagwanBirsa Munda. He said that the State Government and the Union Government are working together for the rapid development of Jharkhand.

Birsa Munda was born on 15 November 1875, at Ulihatu (उली हातु) in Bengal Presidency, now in the Khunti district of Jharkhand.

Birsa Munda started to advise tribal people to pursue their original traditional tribal religious system.

Birsa Munda's slogan threatening the British Raj—Abua raj seter jana, maharani raj tundu jana ("Let the kingdom of the queen be ended and our kingdom be established")—is remembered today in areas of Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh.

He was arrested on 3 March 1900 in Jamkopai forest, Chakradharpur, while he was sleeping, along with his tribal guerrilla army, which was fighting against British forces.

About 460 tribal people were arrested, of which one was sentenced to death, 39 to transportation for life, and 23 to fourteen years' jail time. Birsa Munda died in Ranchi Jail on 9 June 1900.

 

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The Brutal Anjala Massacre by British.

Ajnala Massacre: When An Urban Legend Became A Reality

When the remains of 282 Indian soldiers were discovered in a forgotten well in 2014, folklore became a fact in a small town near Amritsar. Clues to this mass grave came from the ruthless British administrator who had ordered the killings in 1857

www.livehistoryindia.com

 

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