After Guru Gobind Singh and Mahatma Gandhi, chief minister Nitish Kumar has now set his eyes on Veer Kuer Singh, who participated in the First War of Independence in 1857, dealt several defeats on the British and liberated vast stretches in western Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. He died undefeated in 1858.
Nitish on Wednesday said Bihar's role in the freedom movement "has been much ignored till now" and said awareness about Kuer Singh should be spread across the country. He promised year-round events to ensure it.
"Kuer Singh was one of the prominent heroes of the First War of Independence and his role in it should be recognised at the national level. His life and achievements should be incorporated in school syllabus and textbooks, so that students and the generations to come could know about him," Nitish said.
The chief minister was speaking after inaugurating a function organised here in Patna to mark the martyrdom day of Kuer Singh. The event was organised by Patna-based Veer Kuer Singh Seva Sansthan (VKSSS), which operates from the house of state industries minister Jai Kumar Singh.
"Year 2018 will be the 160th year of martyrdom of Kuer Singh and we will organise special functions in Patna so that people become more aware about him," Nitish said and invoked VKSSS to take a lead in organising such programmes.
Nitish asserted that awareness about Kuer Singh needs to be spread not only because he mobilised people and troops, his leadership skills and his fight against the British but also because he connected with all sections of the society - be it farmers, youth, Hindus-Muslims, Dalits or backward classes. "He made them a part of his battle and administration," he said.
"He even took steps for the empowerment of women, and sacrificed his two sons in the war for freedom. His organisation skills were unparalleled and at one time 10,000 soldiers were fighting for him," the chief minister said.
"Harmony, love and brotherhood are important for any society to progress. These things are common in the life of Guru Gobind, Mahatma Gandhi and Kuer Singh.
Pointing out that the government has renamed the erstwhile Hardinge Park in Patna as Veer Kuer Singh Azadi Park, Nitish said the concept was to develop it in such a manner that visitors get proper information about prominent Bihar leaders who participated in the freedom movement.
The Nitish-led state government successfully organised the 350th Prakash Utsav, the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th guru of the Sikhs, in Patna in December 2016-January 2017.
He followed it up with centenary celebrations of the Champaran Satyagraha of Mahatma Gandhi, which is going on and will end in April-May 2018.
The chief minister invoked the audience and asked them to take a pledge to work against child marriage and dowry system to ensure a better society, state and country.
"It has been seen that the height of people increases with development in the area. But Bihar has seen stunted growth among children. Child marriage has harmful effects on a woman's body and the children born are weak. We are going to start a campaign against child marriage," Nitish said.
A campaign against dowry prevalent in the society would also be started and the chief minister hoped people would support the twin campaigns in the same way they supported prohibition in the state.
"We need to initiate a strong campaign against the two social ills," Nitish added. JDU state president and MP Bashishtha Narayan Singh, national general secretary Shyam Rajak, spokesperson and MLC Neeraj Kumar and several other leaders were pr-esent on the occasion. Chhotu Singh, a JDU worker, welcomed Nitish with a 160kg garland.
