Azadi ke Matwalo ki Kahani: The country is preparing for the celebration of independence. The day to remember the brave martyrs is coming. It is beautifully said- “Fairs will be held every year on the funeral pyres of the martyrs, this will be the only remaining sign of those who died for the country.” Everyone knows many people who died for the country, but there are hundreds and thousands of people who silently wrapped the tricolor on their bodies either became victims of the bullets of the British or were hanged.
One such brave man was Ramchandra Vidyarthi. Ramchandra Vidyarthi of Hathiyagarh village in Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh was a patriot since childhood. He had so much anger against the British rule that he jumped into the freedom movement during his student life. Ramchandra Vidyarthi is the youngest martyr of the freedom movement in Indian history. He was born on April 1, 1929. His family’s ancestral work was to make earthen pots. When he jumped into the freedom movement, he was studying in the 5th class. His mother’s name was Moti Rani and father’s name was Babulal Prajapati. Ramchandra’s grandfather Bhardul Prajapati was also a patriot. He studied in the school of nearby village Basantpur Dhusi.
In 1942, when the flames of the Quit India Movement were raging across India on the call of Mahatma Gandhi, groups of youth from every corner of the country left their homes to join the movement at a single signal from Gandhiji. The call for rebellion had also been given in Deoria, Uttar Pradesh. From here, the youth of the country were marching to oust the British from the country by raising the flag of independence. A student Ramchandra Vidyarthi was also included in this group.
It is said that Ramchandra Vidyarthi reached Deoria on 14 August 1942 by walking about 32 kilometers from his village. Where the health department’s medicine store is now located in the Gandhi Ashram, there used to be a court. These young men reached the court and took down the Union Jack flag that was fluttering there and started hoisting the tricolor.
As soon as the British army came to know that a group of young men was going towards the court, the army took control of the entire area. But these young men were not going to stop. When these young men did not stop even after several warnings, the British started firing bullets. Amidst the bullets, Ramchandra Vidyarthi climbed the roof of the court and hoisted the tricolor. After hoisting the tricolor, Vidyarthi died there while shouting Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Ramchandra, who took down the Union Jack and hoisted the tricolor, was only 13 years old. The news of Ramchandra Vidyarthi’s martyrdom spread like fire and within no time, protests against the British started in the entire area.
The body of the innocent martyr Ramchandra Vidyarthi was wrapped in the tricolour and brought to his village Nautan Hathiyagarh. A huge crowd gathered to see Ramchandra’s body on the roads through which it was brought. His last rites were performed on the banks of the Gandak river.
After independence, the country’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited martyr Ramchandra Vidyarthi’s village Nautan Hathiagarh in 1949. A statue of the martyr has been installed in his village. A martyr’s memorial has been built in the Ramlila ground in the district headquarters as well. A memorial and park has been built in his name at the court where he hoisted the tricolor. The school where Ramchandra studied has also been named after him as Shaheed Ramchandra Vidyarthi Inter College Basantpur Dhussi.
Tags: 15 august, freedom fighters, Independence Day
FIRST PUBLISHED : August 6, 2024, 07:01 IST