Kakori Train Action centenary set for grand celebration in UP

The Uttar Pradesh government will observe the 100th year of the Kakori Train Action with a string of activities, such as creative writing competitions and a Tiranga Mela, it said on Tuesday.

On August 9, 1925, in Kakori, Indian freedom fighters looted the treasury of the British government to buy arms for their fight against the British Raj.

In 1927, Ram Prasad 'Bismil', Ashfaqulla Khan and Thakur, and Roshan Singh were hanged by the British government for their involvement in the incident.

The culture department of the government has announced Prabhat Pheri, a motorcycle rally, an exhibition of the freedom movement, and a plantation drive to mark the day, according to a statement.

On August 8, an instrumental version of the National Anthem will be played at various martyrs' memorials in the state, it said.

"Around 300 students from various schools of Kakori are expected to participate in various cultural and literary events," the statement read.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is likely to be a part of the events.

In a meeting on Monday evening, Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Roshan Jacob directed that preparations be completed at Kakori Smriti Sthal in Baaznagar in Kakori.

On July 13, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the centenary year of the Kakori train robbery will be grandly celebrated in Lucknow.

"Kakori is located at a short distance from Lucknow, and Lucknow has a very close relationship with this historical event. Therefore, my effort will be to celebrate the centenary year of the Kakori incident in a grand manner in the city as well as other places," the minister then said.

"In August 1925, an incident took place at a railway station near Lucknow which shook the foundations of British rule. The revolutionaries fighting for freedom looted the British treasury near the Kakori Railway Station for the freedom of India," he said.

Revolutionaries Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, and Sachin Nath Bakshi were involved in the incident.

"When the trial of the Kakori case began, (former UP chief minister) Chandra Bhanu Gupta stood in the court with eminent lawyer Govind Ballabh Pant (first chief minister of UP, then United Provinces) on behalf of the revolutionaries," the defence minister said.

Rohit Khatri, a grandson of Ramkrishna Khatri (Kakori revolutionary), who is also the general secretary of Shaheed Smriti Samaroh Samiti, said the brazen train robbery enlivened a flagging freedom struggle.

"The Kakori Train Action was an important milestone in the Freedom Movement, as it changed the mindset of the youth. The event gave a new direction and momentum to the freedom movement," he told PTI.

He said that after the First War of Indian Independence in 1857, the freedom struggle had lost its steam.

"But, the Kakori Train Action gave a strong shock to the British government, and woke it from sleep … and the rest of the work was done by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his Azad Hind Fauj," he added.

Former Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik recalled how, back then, he insisted that the event be renamed to Kakori Swantrata Sangharsh.

"When the Kakori Train robbery had completed 90 years (in 2015), I was the governor of Uttar Pradesh, and at that time I had suggested that such a splendid incident should not be termed as 'Kakori Kaand', and instead, it should be called as 'Kakori Swantrata Sangharsh'," he told PTI from Mumbai.

He said that though Mahatma Gandhi had given the Quit India call on August 8, 1942, it seed was sown much before with the train robbery.

"Kakori is a pilgrimage site for the country," Naik added.

During his tenure as the UP governor, Naik visited Kakori many times.

Naik was the governor of UP from July 22, 2014, to July 28, 2019.

In 2021, the Uttar Pradesh government renamed the landmark event as the Kakori Train Action.

The new name was used in official communications to refer to the event, usually described as the 'Kakori train robbery' or the 'Kakori train conspiracy'.