LUDHIANA: Family of freedom fighter Sukhdev Thapar have demanded he, along with Bhagat Singh and Rajguru be given the status of martyrs. They said the three gave their lives for the country, and yet, even after 70 years of Independence, they have not been bestowed the recognition. Sukhdev's family has warned that if the three freedom fighters are not given their due they will go on a hunger strike.
A relative said, “Our demand is that they should be given the status of martyrs. We are going to Delhi on Friday. We will place our demands there. If our demands are not met, then we will go on a hunger strike.” A senior member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, Sukhdev was hanged on March 23, 1931, at the age of 23. Shivaram Hari Rajguru was from Maharashtra, and he, along with Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev, was hanged for the “assassination” of British police officer JP Saunders in Lahore in 1928. Rajgurunagar was renamed from Khed, in his honour. Singh's acts of bravery against the British made him a hero of the Independence movement. He too, was executed at the age of 23.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh dedicated a martyrs' museum to the naiton and memorial at Shaheed Bhagat Singh's ancestral village Khatkar Kalan in Nawanshahr district. Prior to the inauguration, Amarinder and Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu paid floral tributes to Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev, declaring the day as Youth Empowerment Day.
The Chief Minsiter also launched the Drug Abuse Prevention Officer (DAPO) scheme in which volunteers will engage with government employees and the people of Punjab in the ongoing fight against drugs. Singh became the first person to register himself as a DAPO. Later, he took and administered the DAPO oath to his cabinet ministers and other volunteers. He also thanked them for joining his government's efforts to rid the state of the problem of drugs.
The event was boycotted by Ashok Thapar, nephew of Sukhdev, alleging relatives of martyrs were not being treated properly. “the way we are being treated is pathetic. Our seating arrangement should have made on the main stage instead of a separate one in the corner.”
