KOELWAR YOUTHS DISPLAYED VALOUR IN THE 1942 MOVEMENT

KOELWAR YOUTHS DISPLAYED VALOUR IN THE 1942 MOVEMENT

9-AUG-ENG 15

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA---------------------------The land of Shahabad in Bhojpur district has always been fertile ground for revolutionary spirit. Whether it was the Revolt of 1857, the August Revolution of 1942, or the Quit India Movement, the local youth participated enthusiastically and even led the revolutionary efforts.

Shahabad played a significant role in the revolution of August 1942 aimed at the country's independence; naturally, Koilwar was not one to lag behind.

The youth of this region actively participated in the Quit India Movement and the August Revolution of 1942, making us proud through their valor and martyrdom.

A massive popular revolution erupted in 1942. On August 9, 1942, the British administration Gandhi and all the prominent leaders were arrested and imprisoned.

Gandhiji had already given the 'Do or Die' call. Left without leadership, the agitators acted according to their own judgment. Even proponents of armed revolution—who did not believe in the 'Satyagraha movement'—joined the fray and engaged in acts of sabotage.

Telegraph lines were cut to disrupt communication networks, and railway tracks were uprooted to halt the movement of troops. The British administration ruthlessly crushed the movement; thousands fell victim to gunfire. The youth of Koilwar were not about to stay behind.

Hundreds of revolutionaries from the area spanning Barhara-Sandesh to Koilwar participated in the uprising, extending their efforts from the local block level all the way to Patna.

From the Patna Secretariat to the Koilwar Block, they collectively shook the foundations of British rule. Hundreds of freedom fighters—including Awadh Gupta, Ramprasad Bismil, Jaggu Lal, Rambahadur, Jamakant, Ramakanu, Awadh, Doman, Jagannath, and Chandrika Mishra—uprooted the tracks of the Koilwar rail-cum-road bridge (built by the British government) and hurled them into the surging waters of the Son River.

They vandalized and damaged the Koilwar and Kulharia railway stations, destroyed post offices and telegraph lines, and dug pits in the roads to disrupt traffic.

When informants relayed this news to the Danapur Cantonment, British troops were dispatched to suppress the uprising. British soldiers arriving from the cantonment opened fire on the revolutionaries, resulting in the martyrdom of several freedom fighters from various parts of the Koilwar block, including Kapildev Ram, Brijesh Nandan Prasad Verma, Mithu Mahto, Suryadev Kumar, Hatim Ali, and Jayram Singh. On August 15, 1972—marking 25 years of independence—the Government of India installed stone pillars at every block headquarters across the country to commemorate the freedom fighters who had laid down their lives during the struggle for independence; these pillars bore their names alongside accounts of their valor.

The names of the martyred freedom fighters from Koilwar Block—Kapildev Ram, Brijesh Nandan Prasad Verma, Mithu Mahto, Suryadev Kumar, Hatim Ali, and Jayram Singh—were inscribed on the pillar installed at the Koilwar Block headquarters.