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Har Ghar Tiranga: Overlooked till now, this Musahar village in U.P. is in celebratory mood
The enthusiasm was clear among the Musahar community members as they came out of their houses with children to receive the national flag.
Fifty-year-old Devi Lal, a native of Jungle Panchrukhiya village in Kushinagar district, was elated when he was handed the national flag on Saturday by members of the gram panchayat and district administration employees to hoist on his hutment on the occasion of the country’s 75th Independence Day on August 15.
Lal could barely control his emotions. “I could not believe that the government gave me a Tricolour to hoist. I have seen people moving with the national flag in the nearby Padrauna town during previous I-Day celebrations but I never had the opportunity to hold the Tricolour. The gram pradhan told me that on the occasion of the 75 years of independence the government has launched the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign,” Lal said.
A daily-wage labourer, Lal belongs to the Musahar community. “A majority of the residents in my village belong to the marginalised Musahar community. We are landless and do petty work for money. We have seen Independence Day programmes organised in schools, block or the tehsil offices but never got the opportunity to participate in the flag-hoisting or the cultural programmes organised on the occasion. Even our children watched the programmes from a distance, a majority of them were not enrolled in the schools and did not have the nerve to participate in the programme.
“This time the government has come to our door on the occasion of Independence Day. It will remove the caste barrier, and like other communities, we too will be part of the Independence Day programme,” he said.
Lal is not alone. Other members of the Musahar community Rajendra and Sukh Devi echoed the same sentiments. “For us, Independence Day celebrations have commenced from today,” the duo said.
Keshav Gupta, the gram pradhan, moved in the village with the district administration employees and volunteers to distribute the national flag. Soon, a group of the Musahar community members gathered in the centre of the village and raised slogans in support of the Independence Day.
Gupta said that enthusiasm was clear among the Musahar community members as they came out of their houses with children to receive the national flag.
The state government has launched development and welfare schemes in the Musahar-dominated villages in the district. Along with pucca houses, the administration has constructed toilets, drains and provided electricity connections to some houses. The remaining villagers will get the benefit of the schemes soon, he said.
S Rajalingam, district magistrate, Kushinagar, said that the district administration is mobilising the marginalised communities, including Musahars settled in the district, to join the 75 years celebration of the Independence and the Har Ghar Tiranaga campaign. A committee of the district administration officers has been constituted to visit villages to create awareness among the masses about the campaign.
Committees have also been constituted at the village level to ensure people from all communities join the campaign. The national flag will be hoisted at the Amrit Sarovar constructed in the villages, he said.
