Chandigarh: Haryana’s Energy, Transport and Labour Minister, Anil Vij said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is coming on November 5 to inaugurate the “Aazadi ki Pehli Ladai ka Shaheed Smarak” built in Ambala Cantonment. The memorial will be inaugurated first, followed by a large workers’ rally at Gandhi Ground. He said that it is significant for people to attend the rally because they will be participating in an event honouring a martyrs’ memorial. After the inauguration on November 5, the Martyrs’ Memorial will be opened to the public from November 6.
He said the government has also issued instructions for students from various schools and educational institutions in Haryana to be shown the memorial, so that young people learn that the freedom struggle began in Ambala before Meerut in 1857. He urged people to attend the rally at Gandhi Ground, Ambala Cantonment, in large numbers on November 5, as it will mark the inauguration of a national-level memorial.
Energy Minister Anil Vij said he had been working for the construction of the Martyrs’ Memorial for the past 25–30 years. He said that books taught that the Congress fought the independence struggle, but when he read further, he found that in 1857—before the Congress was even founded—an armed struggle for independence was fought across India, and it began in Ambala.
Anil Vij said that the Martyrs’ Memorial includes a 68-metre-high lotus-shaped memorial tower with two high-speed lifts. A museum has also been built inside the lotus flower, which will be a major attraction. He said a gallery has also been created in the memorial for paying tribute to the martyrs, and everyone entering it will be digitally recorded.
