Patna (Bihar) [India], August 11 : Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Tuesday paid tribute to the seven young freedom fighters who were killed by British police on August 11, 1942, while attempting to hoist the Tricolour at the Patna Secretariat during the Quit India Movement.
Choudhary visited the Shaheed Smarak complex in Patna and paid his respects to the martyrs, remembering their sacrifice on the day that holds a special place in Bihar's history of the freedom struggle. Recalling the events of August 11, 1942, the Chief Minister said British police had opened fire on a group of students who had set out to hoist the national flag over the Patna Secretariat. Seven young men were killed in the firing.
The seven martyrs were Umakant Prasad Singh, Ramanand Singh, Satish Prasad Jha, Jagpati Kumar, Devipad Choudhary, Rajendra Singh and Ramgovind Singh.
The incident took place during the Quit India Movement, which had been launched by Mahatma Gandhi in August 1942 with the call for the British to leave India. The attempt by the students to hoist the Tricolour at the Secretariat became one of the most remembered episodes of the movement in Bihar.
The memorial ceremony comes as Bihar observes August 11 as a day to remember the seven students who laid down their lives while trying to assert the country's freedom and national identity.
The Chief Minister's tribute came after the government transferred social security benefits to beneficiaries in the state a day before.
On the occasion of Bihar Pension Day, an amount of ₹1,157 crore and ₹72 lakh was transferred through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into the bank accounts of 1 crore 1 lakh 33 thousand social security pensioners, according to Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.
He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the monthly social security pension has been increased from ₹400 to ₹1,100.
The government has also ensured that the pension amount reaches the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries by the 10th of every month, Choudhary said.
He said the government's priority was to ensure that no eligible elderly person, differently-abled individual, widow or deprived citizen is left out of social security benefits.
The pension amount is being transferred directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts through the DBT system, aimed at ensuring timely delivery of welfare assistance and reducing dependence on intermediaries.
The twin developments, remembrance of the seven young martyrs and the transfer of social security pensions to more than one crore beneficiaries, marked August 10 and 11 in Bihar as days combining remembrance of the state's freedom struggle with the government's focus on social welfare.