Govt to set up 12 chairs for study on freedom fighters

As part of the continued efforts to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Indias first war of independence,and some related events...

As part of the continued efforts to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Indias first war of independence,and some related events,the government has decided to establish 12 chairs in different universities devoted to the study on freedom fighters like Shaheed Bhagat Singh,Chandrasekhar Azad,Babu Kunwar Singh and Bahadur Shah Zafar.

The Culture Ministry has allocated Rs 5 crore each for these chairs,which would be spread over Delhi University,Jawaharlal Nehru University,Indira Gandhi National Open University,Jamia Milia Islamia,Vikram University,Ujjain and Veer Kunwar Singh University in Ara,Bihar.

JNU has offered to create a chair for studies related to Shaheed Bhagat Singh while IGNOU would have those on Bahadur Shah Zafar,General Shah Nawaz of the Indian National Army (INA) and Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha.

Jamia Milia University has decided to set up chairs for Saifuddin Kitchlew,A M Khwaja,M A Ansari and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai. Delhi University will establish two chairs,one for Aruna Asaf Ali and the other for Tatia Tope. The Babu Kunwar Singh chair will come up at Veer Kunwar Singh University while Vikram University will have the chair on Chandrasekhar Azad.

The government had organised year-long programme in 2007 to mark the 150th anniversary of the 1857 sepoy mutiny that triggered Indias quest for independence from British rule. The celebrations coincided with the 100th birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and 60th year of Indias independence.

The chairs have been established with the objective of promoting research on the life of these freedom fighters and their role in the freedom struggle.

Compilation of memoirs and books on these freedom fighters and their associates are expected to be the major outputs of these research grants.