Badal announces memorial in Doaba belt Says will exclusively highlight Punjabi martyrs, to be better than the one at Anandpur Sahib
Hussaniwala/Khatkar Kalan (Nawanshahr), March 23
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today announced the setting up of a high-tech memorial in Doaba region that would exclusively highlight Punjabis who were part of the freedom struggle.
The memorial, Badal said, would even outshine the Virasat-e-Khalsa complex that had come up at a cost of Rs 350 crore in Anandpur Sahib.
Addressing a gathering on the occasion of Bhagat Singh's martyrdom day at his ancestral Khatkar Kalan village, Badal said the deputy commissioners of four Doaba districts had been told to identify 20 to 25 acres of land for the memorial. Badal said while Punjabis comprised 2.5 per cent of the country's population, as many as 80 per cent of the martyrs and participants in the freedom struggle were from the state. "Despite such a major contribution by the Punjabis, the state has always been meted out a step-motherly treatment by the Centre," he claimed.
The SAD patron also used the opportunity to attack the Opposition Congress: "Those who indulged in petty politics and had been carrying a 'khoonda' (a stick with a knife at its tip) were discarded by the people." In an adjoining 'pandal', Congress Legislature Party leader Sunil Jakhar countered the comment: "Khoonda has been kept on a standby as of now. We will take it out at an appropriate occasion."
In Hussainiwala, where the Chief Minister addressed a state-level function, the thin crowds at the memorial to pay homage to Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on their 81 Martyrdom Day were indicative of the diminishing patriotic fervour among the masses.
The solemnity of the occasion was marred by vendors selling wares on the sidewalk of roads leading to the memorial calling out for buyers. What was even more jarring was the sound of drums coming from a sports event being held nearby.
The sombre occasion, it seems, has assumed the look of a fair in the past 10 years or so. Recalled Bachan Singh: "In the 70s the crowds were large and everybody would remove their shoes to pay respects to the martyrs."
Another visitor said the politicians only paid lip service and did little to follow the path shown by the martyrs. The place was teeming with youngsters sporting turbans like that worn by Bhagat Singh. They raised slogans of "Inquilab zindabad" and "Bhagat Singh amar rahe" every now and then.
Scores of women activists, mostly in green salwaar kameez, preached against drug addiction and female foeticide.
 Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal addresses a gathering at Khatkar Kalan. Photos: Vishal Kumar/Malkiat Singh |
Hussaniwala/Khatkar Kalan (Nawanshahr), March 23
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today announced the setting up of a high-tech memorial in Doaba region that would exclusively highlight Punjabis who were part of the freedom struggle.
The memorial, Badal said, would even outshine the Virasat-e-Khalsa complex that had come up at a cost of Rs 350 crore in Anandpur Sahib.
Addressing a gathering on the occasion of Bhagat Singh's martyrdom day at his ancestral Khatkar Kalan village, Badal said the deputy commissioners of four Doaba districts had been told to identify 20 to 25 acres of land for the memorial. Badal said while Punjabis comprised 2.5 per cent of the country's population, as many as 80 per cent of the martyrs and participants in the freedom struggle were from the state. "Despite such a major contribution by the Punjabis, the state has always been meted out a step-motherly treatment by the Centre," he claimed.
The SAD patron also used the opportunity to attack the Opposition Congress: "Those who indulged in petty politics and had been carrying a 'khoonda' (a stick with a knife at its tip) were discarded by the people." In an adjoining 'pandal', Congress Legislature Party leader Sunil Jakhar countered the comment: "Khoonda has been kept on a standby as of now. We will take it out at an appropriate occasion."
In Hussainiwala, where the Chief Minister addressed a state-level function, the thin crowds at the memorial to pay homage to Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on their 81 Martyrdom Day were indicative of the diminishing patriotic fervour among the masses.
The solemnity of the occasion was marred by vendors selling wares on the sidewalk of roads leading to the memorial calling out for buyers. What was even more jarring was the sound of drums coming from a sports event being held nearby.
The sombre occasion, it seems, has assumed the look of a fair in the past 10 years or so. Recalled Bachan Singh: "In the 70s the crowds were large and everybody would remove their shoes to pay respects to the martyrs."
Another visitor said the politicians only paid lip service and did little to follow the path shown by the martyrs. The place was teeming with youngsters sporting turbans like that worn by Bhagat Singh. They raised slogans of "Inquilab zindabad" and "Bhagat Singh amar rahe" every now and then.
Scores of women activists, mostly in green salwaar kameez, preached against drug addiction and female foeticide.
Diminishing zeal
- Thin crowds at the memorial to pay homage to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev at Hussaniwala
- Solemnity of the occasion marred by vendors selling wares on the sidewalk of roads leading to the memorial
- Even more jarring was the sound of drums coming from a sports event being held nearby
Sukhdev’s kin honoured at khatkar kalan
Martyr Bhagat Singh's kin were usually honoured at his native Khatkar Kalan village on his martyrdom day. But, the SAD had to call martyr Sukhdev's nephew Vinod Thapar from Ludhiana for the function at Khatkar Kalan as Bhagat Singh's nephew Abhey Singh Sandhu joined Manpreet Badal's outfit People's Party of Punjab last year.
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