City Beat

Massacre At Eram: The Jallianwala Bagh 2.0 Of India





Massacre At Eram: The Jallianwala Bagh 2.0 Of India

Odisha has always been the land of Bravehearts. The valiant warriors of the soil have fought fearlessly to protect their motherland, be it from the marauding invaders or the Britishers. Freedom fighters of Odisha even actively participated in the Independence struggle and have their share of contribution in freeing India from the British rule. Some of the eminent freedom fighters from the state – Bakshi Jagabandhu, Birsa Munda, Utkal Gauraba Madhusudhan Das, Pandit Gopabandhu Das, Ramadevi Choudhury, Dr Harekrushna Mahatab and Biju Patnaik waged many battles and fights against the foreign rule. While a few of them are still remembered, many have been lost in the pages of history. One such incident is the Eram massacre.

Located 16 km from Basudevpur in Bhadrak district, Eram is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal on one side and rivers Gameye and Kansabansa as well as thick forests on the other. Being remote, inaccessible, isolated and safely secured by natural boundaries, the place was used as a citadel by many freedom fighters during the British rule. It was the favourite hideout since it was not easily accessible for the administration and police to reach Eram.

Notably, parallel governance was established at Eram under the leadership of freedom fighter Kapil Chandra Kar after Gandhi’s call for Swaraj and the Quit India movement as inhabitants of Basudevpur were active in the freedom struggle. Thus, the liberated river-bounded area was called as Swadhin Banchanidhi Chakala, named after the famous firebrand patriotic poet of the area Banchanidhi Mohanty. The free land comprised 26 villages and had three operational departments – Intelligence, supply, and army.

Eram had a large open field that remained protected by a boundary. This field hosted almost all the meetings and agitations against the Britishers. On September 28 1942, a huge crowd of about 5,000 people gathered at this field and Kapil Chandra Kar was scheduled to address the congregation. However, Kar could not address the crowd after it was learnt that Britishers were planning to arrest him from the spot. In his place, another leading freedom fighter Ganesh Prasad Tripathy presided over the meeting to chalk out the future course of action against the British rule. Since it lasted to be a peaceful meeting, the crowd did not carry any arms. But the British Police, afraid of mobilization of a huge mass against their rule, marched to the meeting place. Though spies were deployed at strategic points in the area to observe the movement of police and sound the conch as a warning signal in face of any threat, they were taken by surprise as the British force charged in all of a sudden. At 6.30 pm, the police opened fire at the gathering. As the field was bounded and the police had closed the only gate, people at the meeting could not find any escape route.

Around 304 shots were fired in just a few minutes. As many as 28 persons died on spot and 56 were severely wounded. Later, another injured person died taking the official toll to 29. However, the unofficial figures were very high. When this bloodbath was taking place, the entire place reverberated with the helpless cries of dying people. The swampy soil of the field turned red with the blood and bullet-torn flesh of the patriots. But in the face of death, the villagers showed exemplary courage and shouted, “We will die but not fear.” This was the biggest slap on the face of Britishers.

Thus, Eram got the name ‘Rakta Tirtha’ or The Pilgrimage of Blood after this brutal massacre of the freedom fighters. The incident is also regarded as the second Jallianwala Bagh massacre of India. But unfortunately, very few people are aware of this place. Though Eram has been declared a tourist spot, it is yet to receive its due recognition.

Author: Amit kumar singh

Read more from author