New Delhi: Believe it or not, 72 years have passed since the independence of the country from the British rule. But there was a village in Haryana where the National Flag was not unfurled until recently.
Considered as the ‘Slave Village’, the village with a population of about 4,200 people, neither celebrated the Republic Day nor the Independence Day for various historical reasons.
As per history, the village, Rohnat in Bhiwani district of Haryana, was punished by the colonial rulers after several villagers participated in the first war of Independence in 1857 and liberated many Indian prisoners who were held in prison by the British rulers. They villagers fought bravely and sacrificed by their lives.
Angry over their participation in the Independence struggle, the British rulers had on his day killed all the men of the village. The men were crushed under road-rollers and blown away with cannons. Since then, the residents of this village observed August 15 as the ‘Black Day’ and did not celebrate Independence Day or Republic Day.
However, bringing an end to the age-old bad omen, Haryana Chief Minister (CM), Manohar Lal Khattar, finally hoisted the National Flag in Rohnat on the occasion of Shaheed Diwas (Martyr’s Day) March 23, 2018, after 71 long years.
After hoisting the Flag, the CM also instructed officials to solve all the problems of the village. He also unveiled the blue print of a martyr memorial in the village and laid foundation stone a bus queue shelter and announced free WiFi facility in the village. The CM assured that a web portal of the village would also be developed and it will have information of the villagers who sacrificed their lives for the country.
The History of the Slave village goes way back before Independence……
According to history, most of the villagers in Rohnat village were brave freedom fighters. They did not fear the British rulers and fought bravely for the freedom of India. They were active supporters in the Independence struggle.
Back in 1857, the villagers stormed into a jail and released all the Indian prisoners who were held captive by the British.
Following this, the British army had attacked the village and killed all the men in the village for participating in the freedom revolution.The British had also massacred like Jallianwala Bagh in Rohnat village.
The British destroyed the village by cannons while the villagers were killed by running a road roller on them. In order to save their chastity, women in the village jumped into wells and killed themselves. Some performed ‘Jahuar’ and jumped into fire.
There are still many places like the wells where the women jumped and the banyan trees in which the villagers were hanged. This wells and trees are still present in the form of witness of the pain given by the British to the villagers.
Now, even after so many years of Independence, the village is still eluded of development and progress. Till today, the villagers are waiting to get real Independence and come out of the massacre that is still in the minds of the people.
Agencies
