PM inaugurates Chauri Chaura centenary celebrations in UP

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated via video conference the centenary celebrations of the historic Chauri Chaura incident, a landmark event in the country’s fight for Independence.

• Modi also released a postage stamp to mark the beginning of the centenary celebrations.

• The year-long commemoration of the Chauri Chaura incident’s centenary began in all 75 districts of the state with ‘Prabhat Pheris’ (early morning rounds) and other programmes that will continue till February 4, 2022.

• Besides the beautification of the Chauri Chaura Shaheed Sthal in Gorakhpur, the area is also being developed as a tourist spot on the lines of India Gate, Jallianwala Bagh and Cellular Jail.

What is Chauri Chaura incident?

• The event, named after the village in Gorakhpur district where it took place, was a vital turning point in the country’s struggle for independence as it marked the end of the Non-Cooperation movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in September 1920.

• On February 4, 1922, a group of freedom fighters participating in the non-cooperation movement were fired upon by police, leading to the death of many of them. In retaliation, protestors attacked and set fire to the Chauri Chaura police station, killing 23 cops.

• Mahatma Gandhi called off the movement due to the violence.

• The killing of the Chauri Chaura policemen had resulted in the arrest of hundreds of protesters with 228 of them being put on trial, six of them dying during it and 172 ordered to be hanged to death with the remaining sentenced to long-term imprisonments after a hasty eight-month trial.

• Reviewing the death sentences, in April 1923, the Allahabad High Court confirmed it for 19 convicts and sentenced 110 of them to life imprisonments in Port Blair and long jail terms to others.

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