Varanasi: City students witnessed a moving blend of patriotism, remembrance and learning at the Circuit House on Saturday, as an exhibition and cultural programme dedicated to the immortal heroes of India’s freedom struggle began on the eve of the 101st anniversary of the historic Kakori Train Action of August 9, 1925, under the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign.The event began with floral tributes before portraits of freedom fighters Rajendra Nath Lahiri, Ashfaqulla Khan, Ram Prasad Bismil and Thakur Roshan Singh. Public representatives, officials, students, teachers and citizens paid homage to the revolutionaries and recalled their courage in challenging British rule.The exhibition on the Kakori action was the main attraction. It featured researched information on the lives of the revolutionaries, their education, ideological backgrounds, organisational roles and contributions to the freedom movement, besides details of their arrests, trials and punishments.The panels also documented the harsh repression unleashed by the British government following the train action, including death sentences awarded to key revolutionaries and long prison terms imposed on several others.Rare reproductions of signatures, historical letters, trial documents and photographs drew particular attention. Students and other visitors spent considerable time studying the material, making the exhibition an opportunity to understand the history of the freedom struggle beyond textbooks.A separate section highlighted the revolutionaries as educated, literary-minded and deeply committed young nationalists who placed the freedom of the country above personal comfort and safety.The cultural programme added an emotional dimension to the event, with folk singers performing songs centred on sacrifice, bravery and devotion to the nation.A large number of schoolchildren attended the programme and learnt about the ideals of courage, unity and selfless service associated with the freedom struggle. Speakers described the Kakori action as a significant chapter in India’s independence movement, when revolutionaries stopped a train carrying the British treasury, directly challenged colonial authority and inspired generations of Indians.
