The Hindu : Front Page : Encroachments threaten memorial to freedom fighters in Bangalore

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Saturday, Aug 16, 2008
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Encroachments threaten memorial to freedom fighters in Bangalore

B.B. Ravinandan

It was built in 1972 in memory of freedom fighters

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

IN DANGER: Illegal constructions surround the Martyrs’ Column in Bangalore.

Bangalore: Even as Independence Day is celebrated with fanfare, monuments that stand testimony to Bangalore’s association with the freedom movement are getting scant respect. The condition of the Martyrs’ Column near Mysore Bank Circle is a glaring example. With the area around the column encroached upon, the monument is under threat.

The column was erected in 1972 in memory of freedom fighters felled by the bullets of British officers on August 16 and 17, 1942. A crowd of students, workers from Binny Mill, Minerva Mill and handloom and textile factories had marched here in defiance of the ban orders enforced by the colonial authorities. Nine of them died when the mounted police opened fire. Many of the martyrs were students aged less than 17.

Freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy says the neglect of the monument by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike had earlier rendered the entire area into a virtual garbage bin. “Now, the palike has failed to act even as encroachment is going on,” he says.

Intellectual and writer G. Ramakrishna recalls the atmosphere in Bangalore in the 1940s.

“The air was charged with the spirit of patriotism, with the freedom struggle reaching a crescendo. The death of Gandhiji’s assistant, Mahadev Desai, while in jail, added fuel to the fire,” he recalls.

“It is shameful that we have to ask the authorities to preserve the column which epitomises the era of undaunted and resolute struggle,” he adds.

“It is heartening to know that we too have a glorious tradition of struggles against colonialism. It is unfortunate to know that the last memories of those struggles are vanishing,” says S. Bharath Kumar, a student of Central College. Earlier, when freedom fighters met the palike officials and demanded that steps be taken to preserve the column, they were assured of suitable action against encroachers.

When contacted, a palike official told The Hindu that the encroached part of the memorial “has been demolished”. When informed that no demolition had taken place and the structure still existed, he said he would look into the matter.

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