‘1947 celebrations were bigger than Diwali’
KANPUR: As the clock struck 12 on August 14, 1947, the Tricolour began unfurling at the Beech Wala Mandir on Meston Road – a place where Hindus and Muslims frequently defied the British putting up a united face.
“It was a long night, full of fervor. We were free! This feeling preceded everything and everyone. We all were free Indians. I was 13 when I joined the freedom movement in 1933 after a British sahib reacted violently after my father refused to polish his shoes. I wanted my country free of these ‘gora log’ (white men). I started working in the famous Naughara cloth market and formed an organisation of workers to help freedom fighters and the movement. The British put me in jail once and then they couldn’t catch me again,” recalls Bhagwati Singh Visharad, 98, seven-time MLA from Unnao.
He is also known as Unnao ke Gandhi.
He recalls on that blessed day –August 14, 1947 – each moment was like years. “Women prepared ‘ghee ke diye’ (earthen lamps filled with clarified butter). It appeared as if the entire city had come out on the road and people warmly greeted each other. Hugging was the most common way to greet on that day,” he says.
“The business class had erected a huge silver gate on Meston road to welcome “Swatantra ki Devi” (the goddess of freedom). The gate was placed at Beech Wala mandir. By the evening, the scene was even brighter and merrier
I WAS 13 WHEN I JOINED THE MOVEMENT IN 1933 AFTER A BRITISHER REACTED VIOLENTLY AFTER MY FATHER REFUSED TO POLISH HIS SHOES.
than Diwali. Each house had ghee ke diye glowing and people filling the air with slogans,” he adds.
He recalls that at the stroke of midnight, Shiv Narayan Tandon ji, a Congress leader and the first Lok Sabha member from Kanpur, unfurled the Tricolour. “Kanpur was boisterous. People danced all night. At 98, though I can’t forget that night but I can’t remember how and much I celebrated.
I can say this much that I celebrated absolutely in a state of trance. Before the dawn, ‘prabhat pheris’ (morning march) – hundreds of them – moved in every nook and corner of the city.
Kanpur was always closely associated with the freedom movement since 1857 and extra zeal in celebrations was obvious,” he says.