With eye on polls, Yogi govt to highlight Chauri Chaura uprising; to build over 1000 ‘Ganga aarti’ platforms

With the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh due next year, the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government has initiated a year-long celebration of the Chauri Chaura uprising besides putting in place a plan to build over 1000 ‘Ganga aarti platforms across the state in a bid to kindle nationalistic and religious fervour among the masses.

The assembly elections in UP are expected to be held in January-February next year.

The centenary celebrations of the Chauri Chaura uprising will begin in all 75 districts of the state from February 4 and will continue till February 4, 2022.

“The government has decided to celebrate the centenary of Chauri Chaura uprising with an aim to sensitise the young generation about the sacrifices of unsung heroes during the freedom struggle,” UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said in a statement released in Lucknow on Wednesday evening.

The CM said that the Chauri Chaura uprising played a decisive role in giving a new direction to the freedom movement in India. However, it failed to gain the recognition it deserved by historians and writers as no literature gives a detailed record of the incident, he said.

The UP government also seems to feel that the memorial built in memory of the martyrs of the Chauri Chaura incident should get the same recognition as monuments like India Gate, Jallianwala Bagh and Cellular Jail of Andaman. “For this, the UP government has beautified the Chauri Chaura Shaheed Memorial at a cost of Rs 2.17 crore,” an official said.

The foundation stone of the martyrs’ memorial was laid on February 6, 1982, but it took 11 years to be inaugurated.

Interestingly, the formalities of the inauguration were completed on July 19, 1993, but the monument remained neglected.

“The government’s decision to give a facelift to the Chauri Chaura memorial is bound to give a boost to the BJP. People in eastern Uttar Pradesh, particularly in districts close to Chauri Chaura, are emotionally connected with this memorial and not happy with its neglect. It will give the BJP something positive to talk about when it is asking for votes,” Dr Ram Teerth Mishra, a professor in Deen Dayal Upadhaya Gorakhpur University said.

The UP Government has also decided to build 1,038 new ‘Ganga aarti’ platforms along the river from Bijnor to Ballia districts to give a boost to religious tourism. This campaign will be executed in cooperation with the Tourism department. The ‘aarti’ platforms will be constructed in villages falling within a radius of 5 kilometres of the Ganga river.