By Shreya Rawat
“At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history when we step out from the old to the new when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance”.
We can recollect these lines from the Tryst with Destiny speech delivered by the first Prime Minister of India on the eve of independence, but how many of us commemorate the sacrifice of the unsung heroes? When we celebrate some brave hearts, disappointingly there are several who consigned to oblivion. One of the prominent freedom fighters of Uttarakhand is Sri Dev Suman. It is an unfortunate reality that the memory of his sacrifice is fading now, most of the population doesn’t even know about him. Who was he? Where was he from? What did he do? These questions might roll around in your head.
To start with his introduction, he was a social activist born on 25 May 1916, in a remote Himalayan village called Jaul in Tehri, Uttarakhand, which was a princely state of Garhwal back in the time. He became a follower of Gandhi’s belief and vision from a quiet young age. He resisted the freedom of Tehri, which was under the rule. Like, The father of our nation, he chose the path of non-violence and won freedom with no weapons, only with truth and peace. At 26, he was arrested and charged with treason by the Tehri Kingdom. Despite being imprisoned, he was tortured. Although his hands and ankles bound with the heavy iron cuffs and chains, yet his heavy eyelids remained full of hopes which reflected an unwavering determination. After 125 days of misery, he went on a hunger strike for 84 days. His venturousness brought a wave of defiance and solidarity among the souls of the people of Tehri. He sacrificed himself and died in prison only at the age of 29, on 25 July 1944, the officials threw his body at the Bhilangana river confluence, a Himalayan river in Uttarakhand which is a combination of river Bhil and Ganga.
His sacrifice didn’t go in vain and outraged many people. The residents of Tehri province started their non-violent movement for getting themselves freed from the rule of the king and finally gained independence in the year 1949. Many people in Uttarakhand remember Sri Dev Suman for his valor, unbroken spirit, and resolve. They still preserve the iron handcuffs and chains in the New Tehri Jail, and so should live his memory in the collective consciousness. One of the dignified ways to honor and cherish their memory today is by coming together to not let communal bitterness come between and fulfill the Indian dream of these patriots who sacrificed their lives selflessly for the freedom of their country.
