tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12755264.post8722600206614299962..comments2007-05-10T05:38:06.711-07:00Gopal Krishnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17801809794795753601krishnagreen@gmail.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12755264.post-55082012475303010092007-05-10T05:38:00.000-07:002007-05-10T05:38:00.000-07:00Somntah Chatterjee addressed the Lok Sabha saying 'Hon. Members, today a grateful nation is observing the 150th Anniversary of India’s “First War of Independence.”<BR/><BR/> The uprising of 1857, a watershed event in India’s struggle for Freedom, was the first ever mass upsurge of the simmering yearning for Independence among our countrymen. The revolt that began as a sepoy uprising in Meerut had a cascading effect across the country. This popular and almost spontaneous uprising fired up the imagination of the nation, and such revolts against the British Rule followed in other parts of the country. This event kindled the spirit of Swaraj, which spurred the Father of the Nation and other great freedom fighters to lead the Freedom Struggle culminating in Independence 90 years later in 1947. The supreme sacrifices made by the known and unknown heroes of the First War of Independence did not go in vain.<BR/><BR/> The uprising, which was a collective expression of the determination of the Indian people to end the foreign rule, also exemplified the spirit of unity and religious harmony.<BR/><BR/> On this solemn occasion, let us all recall with reverence the supreme sacrifices made by all the valiant freedom fighters and rededicate ourselves to the task of maintaining unity and communal harmony in the country.'amrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02911867265385550997noreply@blogger.com