Phansi Imli: A forgotten symbol of freedom struggle
ALLAHABAD: Located on AllahabadKanpur highway in Sulemsarai, Phansi Imli has been a witness to British atrocities during the first war of independence in 1857.
This is the place where the British hanged hundreds of patriots from a tamarind tree.
The importance of Phansi Imli can be gauged from the fact that India’s first Prime Minister Pt Jawaharlal Nehru visited the place during one of his visits to Allahabad.
Once a symbol of freedom, Phansi Imli is now a victim of apathy.
“It is really shocking that despite having so much importance, no government or local administration took steps to improve the condition of Phansi Imli. It should have been given the same recognition as Chandrashekhar Azad Park in Civil Lines or ‘Neem ka ped’ in Chowk,” said Ram Singh, a resident of Sulemsarai.
There are statues of Rani Laxmi Bai, Maulvi Liyakat Ali and Shaheed Bhagat Singh with a small stage and a signboard fixed on them.
“A few decades ago, local residents renovated the place but no work has been carried out since then,” said Singh expressing displeasure over the indifferent attitude of local administration and public representatives.
The place also finds mention in Arvind Krishna Mehrotra’s novel ‘The Last Bunglow: Writ- ings on Allahabad’.
In the book, he mentioned the cruelty of the British officials after the uprising.
“It was the time when cruelty of the British was at its peak. The British hanged hundreds of people at ‘Neem ka ped’ in Chowk and ‘Imli ka ped’ in Sulemsarai in June 1857. All this was done in a short duration of 3 hours and 40 minutes,” said faculty member in the department of medieval and modern history at Allahabad University (AU) Prof Yogeshwar Dutt Tewari.
“It is painful that no government has taken effective measures to give proper recognition to these historical places,” he said.
“I am planning to write to chief minister Yogi Adityanath and governor Ram Naik to initiate measures to compile the history of neglected monuments in the state. This will help future generations to know about the price which the freedom-fighters paid for the country’s independence,” he added.
District magistrate, Allahabad, Sanjay Kumar said effective steps would be taken to improve the condition of Phansi Imli.
Phansi Imli should have been given the same recognition as Chandrashekhar Azad Park in Civil Lines or ‘Neem ka ped’ in Chowk. RAM SINGH, Allahabad resident