Allahabad:

Much is said and written about the role of Nehru-Gandhi in the freedom movement of Allahabad but less is known about the unsung heroes of that era, without whom the Independence movement would not have gained momentum.

In once such case, the city was booked under Section 144 after people defied the then Bristish government order in 1932. To throw light on this aspect of freedom struggle, the regional archive office has come out with 470 cases of hundreds of unsung revolutionaries, who were caught and against whom cases were lodged in police stations of the city.

The rare documents were kept in dark and dingy rooms of the judicial record room of the Collectorate with other criminal cases for past 68 years. The records will soon be made public. A study revealed that a maximum number of 52 cases were registered under Defence of India Rule (DIR) against freedom fighters with the Kotwali police, followed by the Handia police (38) and 25 cases with Paschim Sharira.

The freedom fighters publishing material were used to be persecuted under Press Act since 1913 in Allahabad, much before Rowlatt Act came into force in 1919.

Regional archive officer Amit Agnihotri said, “It has been seen that historians do not keep a track of thousands of people who were lodged in jails or tried. The Allahabad University students used to take active part in freedom movement and many of them had lost their lives in doing so.”

The record shows that rural people had actively participated in Quit India Movement from August 9, 1942.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Allahabad / TNN / August 10th, 2016