JASWANT SINGH GANDAM / RAMAN NEHRA
India Post News Service
PHAGWARA: Mirroring in a mesmerizing manner the monumental contribution made by Punjabis in India’s freedom movement, the third phase of the Jang-e- Azadi Memorial was inaugurated by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh at Kartarpur in Jalandhar district August 14.
Completed under the able guidance of Punjabi media baron Dr Barjinder Singh Hamdard, chief editor of the Ajit group of newspapers, the phase is dedicated to the martyrs of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the unsung heroes who were incarcerated in the Andaman Cellular Jail (infamous as ‘Kalapani’) during the freedom struggle.
The holographic technique has been used for the first time to display the two horrible events of history.
Dedicating it to the nation on the eve of the 73rd Independence Day, Amarinder Singh also digitally launched a slew of other projects for Jalandhar district as part of Rs 450-crore development and welfare projects inaugurated across the state.
Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Rs 20-crore third phase of the Memorial, the Chief Minister underlined the need for connecting the youth with the glorious legacy of the national freedom struggle.
“It is important to imbue the youth with a spirit of nationalism and patriotism,” he stressed.
Recalling his visit to the Cellular Jail in Andaman, Amarinder Singh said it had inspired him to build a Memorial as a mark of honor to the national heroes.
The Chief Minister said that the first and the second phase of the Memorial had been constructed at a cost of Rs 290 crore.
He lauded the stellar role played by Dr Hamdard in concretizing the concept of the Memorial depicting the country’s glorious history of the freedom movement.
Referring to his government’s flagship “Connect with Your Roots” program, the Chief Minister said the youth visiting the state would be taken around Jang-e- Azadi Memorial, Kartarpur, Partition Museum, Amritsar, and Virasat-e-Khalsa, Anandpur Sahib.
He asked Tourism and Culture Affairs Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, who was also present, to bring the maximum number of students to the Jang-e-Azadi Memorial so that they could be educated and sensitized about nation’s journey to Independence.
In his welcome address, Dr Hamdard, president of the administrative committee of the Jang-e-Azadi Memorial Foundation, outlined the journey of the completion of the Memorial, which he envisioned as a “Tirath Asthan” (a place of pilgrimage).
He revealed that so far over 650,000 people, including about 91,000 students, had visited the Memorial since its inception.
Spelling out his ideas for further enhancing the significance of the Memorial, Dr Hamdard said: “I want to make such a Memorial where people can express their true feelings and respect for martyrs and from where the young generation can get guidance/inspiration.”
Dr Hamdard also honoured Amarinder Singh at the event in which a number of dignitaries were present.
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