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75 years of independence: Congress events to focus on farmers, Dalits
The celebrations that have begun on August 15 and will last until August 15 next year will highlight the Congress’ history and its contribution to the Freedom Struggle in an attempt to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party’s narrative on nationalism
Congress has drawn up an elaborate, yearlong plan to celebrate 75 years of India’s Independence. The party will have its own celebrations, parallel to the Union government’s Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav programmes, but even in that, it will focus on farmers and Dalits.
The celebrations that have begun on August 15 and will last until August 15 next year will highlight the Congress’ history and its contribution to the Freedom Struggle in an attempt to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party’s narrative on nationalism. The party will pick historic dates, including the birth and death anniversaries of icons such as Mahatma Gandhi, BR Ambedkar and Sardar Patel as well as defining events of the All India Congress Committee plenary sessions that are related to Freedom Struggle, said BK Hariprasad, co-convener of a special committee set up by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to celebrate the historic milestone. This panel is being helmed by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and has 11 members.
“We are selecting the dates and places of important events such as Champaran (satyagraha) or Belgaum (the only Congress session with Gandhi as president) during our Freedom Struggle. The state units of the Congress have been asked to organise programmes at those places to commemorate the events,” Hariprasad told HT.
In the list is a programme to commemorate the Patharughat Uprising of farmers in Assam on January 28 in 1894, a quarter-century before the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre. “Similarly, the 1924 AICC session in Belgaum, where Mahatma Gandhi presided over the plenary session and said non-violent non-cooperation will be a means to attain political freedom, will also be celebrated,” Hariprasad said.
The focus on farmers coincides with the ongoing farmer protests in the country and the party’s outreach, especially in Lakhimpur Kheri, where a car mowed down protesting farmers. “We also have to remember that when Gandhi ji started the Satyagraha agitation, he had realised that participation of the elites won’t be helpful unless the farmers and the Dalits also join the movement,” said Hariprasad.
The Congress also plans to highlight its foundation day (December 28, 1885) this year as part of its 75-year celebrations.
The Union government’s official celebrations, however, will be more expansive, covering a larger sphere of the society. All government programmes, various ongoing and future projects and major constructions such as the redevelopment of the Central Vista and the new Parliament building are all linked to the official celebrations.
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