Chauri Chaura event: 'Farmers foundation of country's progress,' says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the inauguration of the Chauri Chaura Centenary Celebrations at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur, UP, via video conferencing on Thursday, said farmers have been the biggest foundation of our country's progress. "Constant efforts have been made in the last six years to make farmers move forward and make them self-sufficient. As a result of this, the agriculture sector has grown even during the pandemic," he said, adding that they also played an important role in the Chauri Chaura struggle.

He said many countries of the world are learning from India's vaccination campaign, and that the way India fought the pandemic is being praised all over the world. The PM said the incident of Chauri Chaura was a landmark event in the country's fight for Independence. It was not just limited to a police station being set on fire, he said. "Message of the incident was huge. Due to various reasons, it was treated as a minor incident, but we should see it in context. The fire was not just in the station but in the hearts of people," he added.

He also said that martyrs of the Chauri Chaura incident are not discussed as much as they should have been, which is unfortunate. "Although, they have not been given significance in pages of history but their blood is in the soil of the country and keeps inspiring us," he said.

Notably, a group of freedom fighters participating in the non-cooperation movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1922 were fired upon by police, leading to the death of many of them. In retaliation, protestors attacked and set fire to the Chauri Chaura police station, killing many of its occupants.

Gandhi called off the movement due to the violence. The killing of the Chauri Chaura policemen resulted in the arrest of hundreds of protesters, with 228 of them being put on trial, six of them dying during it, and 172 ordered to be hanged to death and the remaining sentenced to long-term imprisonments after a hasty eight-month trial.

Reviewing the death sentences, the Allahabad High Court finally in April 1923 confirmed it for 19 convicts and sentenced 110 of them to life imprisonments in Port Blair and long jail terms to others. At today's event, 99 people, descendants of those involved in the incident, will be honoured.

With PTI inputs

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