Exactly fifty-four years ago on this very day, several hundred patriotsfell at Amritsar's Jallianwala Bagh to bullets fired by troops under the command of General Dyer. They formed part of an unarmed crowed which went to attend a peaceful meeting to voice their protest against the forces of repression let loose by the British authorities in the first country-wide 'hartal' launched by the Father of the Nation. But ths was not the first time that the blood of martyrs flowed to drench our sacred soil to help the seed of freedom to sprout. Nor was it the last in the saga of our heroic resistance to foreign rule in India. The Great Revolt of 1857, which spread over Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Central India as well as parts of Rajputana, Punjab and Maharashtra, demonstrated in no uncertain manner how deep was the discontent in different strata of society against alien authority. In this armed conflict thousands perished on various fields of battle.

Many more died on the gallows or were blown to death by cannon with or without summary trials by military tribunals. Freedom's battle once begun, it has ben truly remarked, passes from sire to son. It is equally true that every drop of a martyr's blod brings forth a hundred more to carry on the unfinished strugle for fredom. The challenge to the British Raj fostered an intense patriotic feeling which prompted many Indian revolutionaries to sek arms and set up centres of agitation and propaganda far outside the boundaries of the country, across the seas in distant parts of Asia, Europe and America. From the very beginning the revolutionaries built up and maintained contacts with the Indian soldiers of the British army with a view to enlisting their help in the armed uprising they planned in utmost secrecy. But such efforts to mobilise the Army for the cause of liberation did not meet with any significant success until the days of the Second World War when the Provisional Government of Azad Hind was formed under the inspiring leadership of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the men and women of the Indian National Army took up the cry of "Jai Hind" and blazed a trail of glory as they succeeded inliberating a part of Indian teritory.

The terrorist movement continued to inspire many young men and women well into the Ninteen Thirties but, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the nationalist struggle became primarily a non-violent endeavour. This did not prevent the rulers from unleashing violence against the people of our country. Every form of repression, including lathi Charges, firing, and hanging, was restored to by the guardians of the Empire to supress the non-co-operation movements of thousands of patriotic Indians. During the 'Quit India' Movement of 1942 there were indiscriminate assaults and killing of freedom fighters in many parts of the country.

The yearnings of the martyrs for freedom were realised on August 15, 1947, when India emerged, "awake, vital, fre and independent", to use Jawaharlal Nehru's words. In the 25th Anniversary year of Independence, as we look back on the long struggle for freedom, we are struck by the courage and gallentry which bondage itself called forth. The objective of Swaraj and the creed of Swadeshi permeated all classes of society, and the peole of the country learnt to overcome narrow loyalties of caste, creed, religion or language. Not only the leaders but the rank and file and lakhs of little-known people bore hardships and privation cheerfully, and made many sacrifieces in the service of the motherland.

They have passed away but their memory remains engraved in millions of hearts. At a time when we are consolidating our political freedom through self-reliance, the lives of the martyrs can indeed illumine our path. We have to be imbued with the same burning enthusiasm for holding our heads high in the face of heavy odds, the same readiness to sacrifice today's expectations of ease and comfort for the sake of a better tomorrow. The most befitting homage to the martyrs is to emulate their example in building up a democratic, secular, just and egalitarian society.

The Posts & Telegraphs Department is happy to bring out the commemorative postage stamp to pay their homage to the martyrs.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India