Ashok Kumar, Dhanbad: This year the Sampoorna Kranti is completing 50 years. March 18, 1974 was an important day in this movement, when Bihar Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti surrounded the Bihar Assembly with its 13-point demands. To suppress this movement, the police opened fire on the students. Many students were killed in this. Later, this firing played an important role in strengthening the entire revolution movement. This historical event has a deep connection with Dhanbad. Many of its important characters are living in Dhanbad today. Among these, three people Hari Prakash Lata, Prof NK Ambasht and Awadhesh Kumar Singh have shared their memories related to this incident with BollywoodWallah. After the firing, they ran away holding the railway line.
Hariprakash Lata
BJP leader Hariprakash Lata says that the decision to create a big student movement in Bihar was taken for the first time in Dhanbad. In December 1973, there was a state conference of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in Dhanbad. In this convention, it was decided for the first time that a big movement has to be started by bringing all the student organizations in Bihar on one platform. Earlier, there was a movement of students in many states of the country regarding increase in cinema tickets and mess fees. After this, Bihar United Students Front was formed. A meeting of the Morcha was held in Patna University from 17 to 19 January 1974. In this meeting, the decision to siege the Bihar Legislative Assembly was taken on March 18, 1974. Mr. Lata tells that on March 18, he was present in front of the Bihar Legislative Assembly near the Martyr Memorial. Here the students were first lathicharged. After this tear gas shells were released. But even after this the students were not ready to leave, so firing was done. The students dispersed only after the firing. He himself ran away from there by holding the railway line.
Retired DSP Awadhesh Kumar Singh has been an important link in this shooting. Recalling this day, he says that he was associated with Bhojpur student organization. His organization was given the responsibility of stopping any MLA from entering the North Gate of the Legislative Assembly. When they were going towards the Legislative Assembly, they found a Bihar State Road Transport Corporation bus standing on the way. He knew how to drive a bus. He hijacked the bus and took all the members of his party in the bus and reached the Legislative Assembly. After coming here, he came to know that all the MLAs had gone inside the Legislative Assembly long ago. Due to this the students started seeing their movement coming to an end. But the uproar among the students started increasing. The central police forces present in the Legislative Assembly were coming out to lathi charge the students. Then to stop them, he drove the bus very fast and started circling the Legislative Assembly. He did this many times. Due to this the police were not able to come out. Later, the police were able to come out only after the bus stopped after hitting a pole.
Awadhesh Kumar Singh stopped the police from Bihar Roadways bus for a long time.
Retired university teacher Prof NK Ambasht recalls this incident and says that he got the opportunity to listen to Jayaprakash Narayan for the first time. The Governor used to go to the Legislative Assembly from the gate at which his party was given the responsibility of protesting at the Bihar Legislative Assembly. As soon as the students moved towards the gate, lathi charge was started on them. Within no time the firing started. Everyone started running here and there. Prof. Ambasht says that the sound of the bullet of that day still echoes in his ears. He says that after the firing the students started dispersing. A large number of students started being arrested. In such a situation, they all went out of Patna with the help of boat. On the other hand, as soon as the news of firing on students across the state reached the entire state through radio, agitation started in the entire state. This shooting incident later proved to be the basis of the entire revolution.
After the firing, Prof NK Ambastha ran away by boat to escape from the police.
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