Doaba’s freedom fighter recounts crusade against British

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 20

Touching the 89th year of his life, freedom fighter Dev Brat Sharma (in pic) is still fresh with memories of the freedom struggle in which he, his father and mother, participated.

The son of a well-known freedom fighter and noted social personality, Pandit Mul Raj Sharma, popularly known as Doaba Ka Gandhi, Sharma actively participated in the Quit India Movement of 1942 as a young student from Doaba.

A resident of Rajinder Nagar here, he recalls, “At that time, the police was raiding buildings in search of freedom fighters and seizing records related to the movement. The room where I was studying was also sealed. The police took me to the Kotwali barefoot with minimal clothing. I was tortured to disclose the whereabouts of freedom fighters and to hand over the literature pertaining to the movement. Hot iron rods were placed on my back, The scars of which still remain.”

The veteran freedom fighter continued to narrate, “When Raizada Hans Raj, who was then a member of the Central Assembly, came to know about my condition, he immediately provided me with clothes. He narrated the incident to the Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar, who accompanied by the Superintendent of Police, a British, ordered my release with directions to hand over all records pertaining to the movement. Despite the directions from the DC, I was kept for 15 days at the police station. I then went underground and remained in hiding for over three months.”

Comparing the nationalistic spirit in the youth, then and now, Sharma says, “Though the young generation is equipped with the knowledge of hi-tech gadgets, they should also know about the sacrifices made by their elders for the sake of the country. We had spirit and honesty for the country in those days during the British regime. However, it is completely amiss in the present times. There existed personalities in every field at that time who tried to fight corruption, crime, injustice and arrogance towards the others.”

Sharma, who has been honoured with several commendation certificates by the Punjab government, asserted that the younger generation should not compromise with duty if they want to make India the ‘bird of gold’ (sone ki chiriya) in the real sense. He says the younger generation should always be never hesitate to sacrifice lives for the nation.