5 Historical Places to Remember this Independence Day
Chauri Chaura (Uttar Pradesh)
The Chauri Chaura incident at Chauri Chaura happened on 5th February 1922, when a group of protestors in the Non-Cooperation movement clashed with the police who started firing. The protestors in retribution attacked the policemen and set fire to the Chauri Chaura police station killing all the occupants. It was one of those rare moments in the history of India where people killed their own people. This caused a halt to the Non-Cooperation movement as Gandhi opposes violence.
In 1923, a memorial to the dead policemen was dedicated by the British authorities in 1923. After the independence, the words ‘Jai Hind’ were added to it along with a verse from the poet Jagdamba Prasad Mishra. The verse was made famous by poet Ram Prasad Bismil later, which reads as ‘Shaheedon ki chitaaon par lagenge har baras mele’ which translates to ‘on the pyres of martyrs, there will be fairs every year’. A library and museum has been set up near the memorial to honor the independence struggle and Indian Railways has named a train ‘Chauri Chaura Express’ to honour these men. The train runs between Gorakhpur to Kanpur.
