HP govt names school after Gurkha legend

DHARAMSHALA:The Himachal Pradesh government has named the state-run senior secondary school at Khaniara after Captain Ram Singh Thakur, the freedom fighter who composed the music for the country’s national anthem.

“It is a small tribute to the legend,” said Urban Development Minister and Dharamshala legislator Sudhir Sharma.

Born on August 15, 1914 in a Gorkha family at Khaniara village, about 7 kilometres from Dharamshala town, Captain Thakur has remained an unsung hero for years.

Thakur joined 2nd Gorkha Rifles in Dharamsala cantonment in 1927 as a band member.

He won the King George VI Medal for his bravery during the 1937-39 Khyber-Pakhtoonwa war. Later, he was taken a prisoner of war (PoW) by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in 1942 during the World War II. Subsequently, he joined Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army (INA) and composed the tune of “Kadam kadam badhaye

ja”, the INA’s theme song.

MOVE TO WOO GORKHAS?

Some people have questioned the timing of the government’s move to woo Gorkha voters. “Why do politicians suddenly get reminded of community-specific gestures just when elections are round the corner? It is the fallout of the Gorkha community projecting its own candidate,” wrote a Facebook user, Rajeev Pradhan.