For the first time in the 75th year of independence, there has been a national discussion on the Kharsawan firing incident. A special discussion was held in the historic Audrey House of Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, on the first and most gruesome shooting in independent India. The incident of gunning down of unarmed tribals on January 1, 1948 in ‘Kharsawan Remembrance’, a joint event organized by Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Research Foundation, New Delhi and the History Department of Ranchi University, is termed as the ‘Jallianwala Bagh’ massacre of independent India. But, no political party in independent India discussed the Kharsawan firing incident. Dr CK Pati of Chaibasa, Dr Sujata Singh, head of the history department of Ranchi University, Anuj Kumar Sinha, executive editor of BollywoodWallah and Warish Gopal of Kharsawan royal family, in the first discussion session on the first day of the two-day ‘Kharsawan Remembrance 2023’ at Audrey House on Saturday. Narayan Singhdev expressed his views. The program was conducted by Prof. IK Chaudhary, former Dean of Social Science Department of Ranchi University. During this, the panelists told that why the circumstances of firing in Kharsawan were created within six months of independence? What was the atmosphere like there? Speakers included in the panel said that the leaders who demanded to make Jharkhand a separate state after independence were aware of the importance of Kharsawan. He knew that if Kharsawan joined Odisha, a separate Jharkhand state would never be formed. At the same time, the then central or state governments and political parties never openly opposed this gruesome incident. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia was the only politician who openly criticized the Kharsawan firing. Both in Parliament and outside Parliament. Through this discussion, an attempt was made to bring out the truth about the Kharsawan firing incident, so that people doing research on these subjects can work on it. The truth of the incident that took place in Kharsawan on January 1, 1948, can be revealed to the world.
Governor CP Radhakrishnan, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh inaugurated ‘Kharsawan Remembrance’
‘Kharsawan Remembrance’ was inaugurated by Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan. The program was presided over by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh. Governor CP Radhakrishnan said that the Kharsawan firing incident is a reflection of the history of tribal struggle, which reminds of the struggle and sacrifice for a separate Jharkhand state. He said that this program is an excellent effort to promote research at the grassroots level and develop new thinking. At the same time, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, in his presidential address, talked about principled politics by referring to the article written by Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia in Mankind magazine in 1958 titled ‘Blood bath in Kharsawan’, in which he described tribal history as a continuous struggle and truth. Told history based on. Dr. Lohia described these developments as inspiring for future generations. In this context, he called for India to free itself from the British ideology and adopt the Gandhian social model.
Six books released
Six books were released in this program organized in Ranchi. In these, a souvenir on ‘Kharsawan Remembrance’, ‘Badri Vishal in Vidhan Sabha’ was released. ‘Vidhan Sabha Mein Badrivishal’ has been compiled by T Gopal Singh and Abhishek Ranjan Singh and edited by Abhishek Raja. The Urdu and Odia versions of the book ‘Struggle for Civil Liberties’, originally written in English by Dr. Ram Manohar, were released. Apart from this, the book ‘Shikhar Ko Chhote Tribal’ by Sandeep Murarka and the book ‘Relevance of Lohia’s ideas in the modern context’ by Dr. Mohit Kumar Lal, Assistant Professor, History Department of Ranchi University, were also released.
Screening of short film on Kharsawan firing
A short film on the Kharsawan firing incident was screened in the programme, in which the facts related to the firing incident and the reaction given by Dr Ram Manohar Lohia on that incident were displayed. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Research Foundation announced that the fifth national brainstorming session will be held in Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana. Chhau dance was also demonstrated by the artists in the program organized by the Art and Culture Department of the Government of Jharkhand. Apart from the participants from Jharkhand, participants from Goa, Telangana, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, New Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal participated in this national brainstorming. Former Jharkhand government minister Ramchandra Kesari, Dr. Dinesh Shadangi and the queen mother of the Kharsawan royal family also participated in the program.