Nagpur:
A martyrs' memorial built in honour of freedom fighters and heroes of the independence struggle was unveiled by President Pratibha Patil here ending a two-decade-long wait for its formal inauguration.
The three-storey museum was built by Rashtriya Shivaji Mandal in the old city area of Mahal in early 1990 but was waiting for the inauguration ceremony for want of official support all these years.
The memorial in the eastern part of the city was inaugurated yesterday after an elaborate religious ceremony.
Rajya Sabha member Avinash Pande, who had represented east Nagpur area in the state assembly in 1985, was also present on the occasion.
"I am closely associated with the group of freedom fighters who dreamt of building this memorial in memory of martyr Shankar Mahalle, a 17-year-old city boy who became the
youngest freedom fighter of the country after Mahatma Gandhi gave the clarion call of 'Do or Die' in 1942 asking Britishers to quit India," Pande said.
Rashtriya Shivaji Mandal took active part in the installation of statue of martyr Shankar Mahalle.
According to Ishwar Choudhari, president of the Mandal, the statue was unveiled in 1962 by Pt Jawaharlal Nehru. After Nehru's remark that a fitting memorial should be built for the
unknown heroes of freedom movement, the Mandal decided to build an imposing memorial at the site.
"Mahalle was a local hero who was hanged on January 19, 1943, in Nagpur Central jail along with five others who attacked the Chitnavispra police station to loot its armoury.
The police station was burnt down and a policeman was killed in the attack, led by the youngest hero of the struggle whose father also died fighting the British. Lives of such unknown fighters will be chronicled at the museum," said Choudhary.
Right now, oil paintings and portraits of all past presidents of the Indian National Congress since its inception have been put up on display along with that of freedom fighters.
Till date, a sum of Rs 35 lakh has been spent on building the museum. Construction work of some parts is still pending.
"Soon we will try to put up a light and sound show while a full-fledged library will also be added to enable research on the country's freedom struggle," said Pande.