Krantiteerth Launched From JNU To Commemorate Unsung Heroes

Centre for Advanced Research on Development and Change (CARDC), New Delhi organised ‘Krantiteerth’ . Under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Govt of India, Krantiteerth was launched from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on 28th March. The event was marked by the presence of JNU Rector I, SC Garkoti; Prof Raghuvendra Singh Tanwar, Chairman, Indian Council for Historical Research, New Delhi; Prafulla Ketkar, Editor, Organiser; Dharam Singh SriChawla, Son of late Seth Trilok Singh Srichawla, a member of 'Netaji Subhas Vision Thailand' who served as  personal secretary to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose while in Thailand and Dr Rajesh Tope, descendant of Tatya Tope. Delivering the opening remarks,  Ashutosh Bhatnagar, Director, Jammu Kashmir Study Centre, New Delhi, threw light on the intent and purpose of Krantiteerth. He said that this event was a result of thought upon ideas of celebrating unsung people, places and organisations in the entire freedom movement. In this series, he outlined that there would be thousands of more such outreach programmes that would be conducted through out the country till August 2023. 

Dr Rajesh Tope, great grandson of Tatya Tope was the special guest of the programme. A doctor by profession but a researcher by passion, he provided an in-depth understanding of the nature of freedom movement, how it was manipulated and presented in a detrimental manner in the process of history writing started by the colonial rulers and later carried forward by some Indian historians. 

SrDharam Singh SriChawla, son of one of the closest aide of Sardar Trilok Singh SriChawla shared his personal memoirs and collective initiatives taken by his friends and family in Bangkok in the memory of Neta ji Subhash Chandra Bose. As special guest of the program he added personal touch and value to the event.

Professor Raghuvendra Tawar, Chairman, ICHR, informed & requested the students and faculty present at the event from different think tanks & educational institutions like JNU, DU to search for the true narratives and be informed about the real struggles that the freedom fighters endured to make the dream of independence come true . He insisted that the need of the hour is to simply write the truth and not the twisted interpretations carried on from colonial to post colonial times.

JNU Rector I, Shri SC Garkoti thanked the organisers for taking up this project.

Krantiteerth is an outreach programme planned across North India to commemorate unsung heroes, organisations and places in the freedom movement. The idea is to explore the marginalised or hidden histories of scores of people belonging to this region during India's Freedom Struggle. The intent is to celebrate their past & bring out their historical contribution in the mainstream narratives.