PeterGriffin
Elite
While the entire country would be celebrating the 62nd Republic Day, but some people, especially the kin of freedom fighters would be celebrating the 81st 'Independence Day', which would be attended by freedom fighters and their families here.
The locals here associate January 26 with the Lahore Resolution where a resolution for 'complete independence' was moved by Pandit Nehru at the national conference of the Congress held in 1929.
At the conference, Nehru had announced to unfurl the Tricolour on January 26, 1930 to mark India's independence. "And it was a group that included freedom fighter Lala Duni Chand and our grandfathers who gathered and unfurled the Tricolour in the grain market of Ambala city," said Sudesh Thakur, a resident of Beeta village of Saha sub-division.
In his early 80s, Sudesh is the son of Thakur Rattan Singh who was among those who attended the conference and conveyed the message of flag hoisting of Jawahar Lal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi to Delhi. Kaka Singh and Karora Singh, two Sikh leaders had brought the Tricolour which was unfurled by Lala Duni Chand and Pt Aryanand Sharma who then faced the wrath of the British forces, added Sudesh.
Des Raj Sapra, a retired professor, who claimed to have seen some of the freedom fighters celebrating January 26 as Independence Day during that time said, "We saw it happening until India actually got independence."
All this has been documented in 'Freedom Struggle', a 21- volume series of books authored by RK Mazumdar, a historian. Meanwhile, speaking to TOI, Udayveer Singh, a research scholar, who also teaches head confirmed Sudesh Thakur's version.
"In fact, besides all this finding mention in Mazumdar's works, this matter has also been recorded in Pt Aryanand Sharma's diary. Aryananad had mentioned this in his diary written in Urdu and Persian. And his diary was translated by the Wakf Board," Udayveer Singh, who is working on the subject of contribution of Ambala in India's freedom struggle, said.
The locals here associate January 26 with the Lahore Resolution where a resolution for 'complete independence' was moved by Pandit Nehru at the national conference of the Congress held in 1929.
At the conference, Nehru had announced to unfurl the Tricolour on January 26, 1930 to mark India's independence. "And it was a group that included freedom fighter Lala Duni Chand and our grandfathers who gathered and unfurled the Tricolour in the grain market of Ambala city," said Sudesh Thakur, a resident of Beeta village of Saha sub-division.
In his early 80s, Sudesh is the son of Thakur Rattan Singh who was among those who attended the conference and conveyed the message of flag hoisting of Jawahar Lal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi to Delhi. Kaka Singh and Karora Singh, two Sikh leaders had brought the Tricolour which was unfurled by Lala Duni Chand and Pt Aryanand Sharma who then faced the wrath of the British forces, added Sudesh.
Des Raj Sapra, a retired professor, who claimed to have seen some of the freedom fighters celebrating January 26 as Independence Day during that time said, "We saw it happening until India actually got independence."
All this has been documented in 'Freedom Struggle', a 21- volume series of books authored by RK Mazumdar, a historian. Meanwhile, speaking to TOI, Udayveer Singh, a research scholar, who also teaches head confirmed Sudesh Thakur's version.
"In fact, besides all this finding mention in Mazumdar's works, this matter has also been recorded in Pt Aryanand Sharma's diary. Aryananad had mentioned this in his diary written in Urdu and Persian. And his diary was translated by the Wakf Board," Udayveer Singh, who is working on the subject of contribution of Ambala in India's freedom struggle, said.
