The Indian Railways on Monday announced a week-long celebration as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ which commemorates 75 years of independence, wherein the importance of 27 trains and 75 railway stations to the freedom struggle will be highlighted.
The celebration, which will take place from July 18-23, will see the selected trains being decorated and stations lit up, as well as the staging of events such as Nukkad Natak (street play) in local languages, light and sound shows, display of video films and playing of patriotic songs.
Under the programme, the 27 identified trains will be flagged off by family members of freedom fighters and these will be appropriately decorated and historical facts about the trains would be depicted for the benefit of citizens, particularly the younger generation, Railway Board Chairman and CEO V.K. Tripathi told reporters on Monday.
Additionally, on the final day of the celebration, family members of freedom fighters from the respective local areas will be invited to the stations to share their story.
While the stations will be called ‘Swatantrata stations’ the trains will be called ‘spotlight trains’, Mr. Tripathi added. Photo exhibition and selfie point in the backdrop of ‘Azadi Ki Rail Gadi’ would be set up and remain in these stations during the entire week.
Most of the trains identified are linked to Mahatma Gandhi -- the Ahimsa Express which runs between Ahmedabad and Pune, Ashram Express (Ahmadabad – Delhi), August Kranti Tejas Express (Mumbai Central – Hazrat Nizamuddin), Hutatma (Pune – Solapur), Lokshakti (Bandra Terminus – Ahmadabad), Navjeevan (Ahmadabad – Chennai Central), Navyug (Mangalore Central – Jammu Tawi), Sabarmati (Ahmadabad – Varanasi and Ahmadabad – Darbhanga), Sarvodaya (Ahmadabad – Jammu Tawi), Sewagram (Mumbai C.S.T. – Nagpur), Shanti (Gandhinagar Capital – Indore) and Swaraj (Bandra Terminus –Jammu Tawi).
The list also includes trains named after famous poet Rabindranath Tagore who wrote songs hailing the Indian independence movement and raising the spirits of the freedom fighters. These trains include Shantiniketan Express (Howrah – Bolpur), Gitanjali (Mumbai C.S.T.–Howrah), and Gurudev (Nagercoil – Shalimar). Trains named after Netaji Subhash Bose are also in the list - Netaji Express (Howrah - Kalka) and Azad Hind (Pune – Howrah).
Some of the stations include Cuttack (Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's birthplace), Puri (Chakhi Khuntia and Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das), Sambalpur (Veer Surendra Sai), and Dhenkanal (Baji Rout). Gomoh in Jharkhand and Khudiram Bose Pusa station in Bihar have also been chosen, for their links to Netaji and Khudiram Bose respectively.
The Northeast Frontier Railways has nine stations where the celebrations will take place, while the North Central Railway will have it in four locations. Central Railways will be celebrating 'Azadi ki Rail Gadi Aur Stations' at Guntur, Vijayawada, Gadwal and Hyderabad, while West Central Railway will do so in Jabalpur and Bhopal.
