Lucknow, Aug 8 (PTI) Located nearly 2.5 kilometres away from each other in Lucknow, the General Post Office (GPO) in Hazratganj area and the Chhedilal Dharamshala in the congested Aminabad area have one thing in common -- their association with the 100-year-old Kakori Train Action, which rattled the British as it signified the growing local resentment against their autocratic rule.
While the Chhedilal Dharamshala at Aminabad provided shelter to the freedom fighters who had assembled in Lucknow ahead of the Kakori Train Action that took place on August 9, 1925, the GPO, formerly known as the Ring Theatre, was the venue of their trial following their arrest.
The revolutionary event was usually described as the 'Kakori train robbery' or the 'Kakori train conspiracy'. In 2021, the Uttar Pradesh government renamed it as Kakori Train Action and used the new name in official communications.
After their GPO trial, famous freedom fighters Ram Prasad 'Bismil', Ashfaqulla Khan, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Nath Lahiri were hanged to death in 1927 by the British for their involvement in the incident.
On Friday, on the conclusion of events to commemorate a century of the Kakori Train Action, the daring train heist of the government treasury to provide funds for arms and action to overthrow the British rule, PTI visited both these spots to discover that most were unaware of their historic significance.
"I visit here almost every day for my daily jog but didn't quite know that this place had such a connection with the freedom struggle," admitted Mohit Kumar, a youth in his final year of graduation.
Rohit Khatri, the grandson of Ramkrishna Khatri, who was part of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, admitted the need to make the youth more aware of the history and significance of the monuments and buildings associated with the freedom movement.
"Yes, the young people should know of the great struggle and the heroic sacrifices that got us our Independence. The Chhedilal Dharamshala, located near the historic Jhandewalan Park in the Aminabad area of Lucknow, is the place where the revolutionaries had stayed ahead of the daring train heist of the British treasury. I feel that a small portion of the Dharamshala should be taken, and a museum should be set up.
"This will help in disseminating information that some of the Kakori revolutionaries had stayed here. We must ensure that the young are acquainted with the past," Rohit Khatri told PTI.
He said the Kakori Train Action was an important milestone in the Freedom Movement, as it changed the mindset of the youth.
"The event gave a new direction and momentum to the Freedom Movement. After the Kakori Train Action, the participation of the youth in the Freedom Movement saw a significant increase, which posed a direct challenge to the British government," he said.
"My father (Udai Khatri) used to tell me the heroic deeds of the Kakori bravehearts. I grew up relishing those stories, and the government must ensure that our youth remain connected with their past," he recalled.
Underscoring the secrecy with which the Kakori Train Action was planned, he said most revolutionaries had checked in at the Dharamshala with pseudo names.
"Imagine a bunch of committed young people taking on the mighty British. For foolproof execution, they had to ensure complete secrecy of their plan.
"Such was the secrecy that many checked in with fake names and addresses. Until the very last, most of them, despite staying in the same place, were unaware that all of them were working on the same plan," he recalled.
Ramnath Gupta, the manager of the Chhedilal Dharamshala, whose association with the historical rest house is very old, told PTI, "Ramprasad Bismil and a few others stayed here; they met here. Bismil stayed in room number 211, which, after renewal, was renumbered as room number 227. Sadly, we don't have any documents anymore." He further said, "Last year, in a meeting of the Trust, a proposal was passed that the photos of the Kakori martyrs be put up in the Dharamshala, but it is yet to be done," he said.
Historian Dr Ravi Bhatt told PTI, "There are mixed views on whether the revolutionaries of the Kakori Train Action had stayed at the Dharamshala or not, though the trial that initially started at Roshanudaullah Court was later shifted to GPO after the British found that they were unable to manage the crowd coming out in support of the revolutionaries on trial." Bhatt said that the trial of the case started in 1926 and later it was shifted to the GPO.
"A temporary court was set up for trial there," he said, adding there were 42 arrests in the Kakori Train Action case.
Bhatt said that Judge Archibald Hamilton, who awarded the death sentence to Ram Prasad Bismil, Roshan Singh, Rajendra Nath Lahiri and Ashfaqullah Khan, was known as the "hanging judge". PTI NAV MAN KSS KSS