Salutes to Sridev Suman – A relentless fighter against tyrrany of the then Tehri n British rule, on his 106 th birth anniversary
Today is the 106 th birth anniversary of a great revolutionary, freedom fighter, social reformer and a mass leader of Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand and the country as a whole who sacrificed his precious life at the age of 29 while struggling and fighting the then kingdom of Maharaja of Tehri Garhwal, his ruthless anti people policies and draconian rule that never allowed freedom of speech and expression and right to study more than fifth standard in order to keep his autocratic rule intact.
Today, Sridev Suman’s birth anniversary is commemorated all over the country, particularly in various parts of Uttarakhand and metropolises drawing inspiration against injustice and exploitation n his death anniversary as a MARTYRS DAY, in the form of paying him floral tributes, holding seminars, meetings, plays on his life story and table talks to remember this great legend, his ideals, principles and morals which he left behind after remaining on fast unto death in Tehri, Garhwal jail for 84 protracted days protesting against the barbaric and anti people policies of the then ruler of Tehri Garhwal king who barbaric police initially fed him food, mixed with the smashed stones and glasses fully chained, finally leading to his most tortuous death. Eminent globally famed environmentalist and a Gandhian Padmavibhushan derived tremendous inspiration from freedom fighter and revolutionary Sridev Suman who sacrificed his precious life just at the age of 29 in Tehri Jail confronting torture and tyrrany of the cruel police at the behest of the then Rajshahi. Bahuguna considered him as his sole mentor and imitated his principles, ideals and dedication while struggling for India’s freedom in Tehri Garhwal n against then tyrranical king’s rule.
People of Uttarakhandi origin and those believing in late Suman’s ideals today take a collective pledge to imbibe his principles and morals in their respective lives to relentlessly fight against injustice and exploitation.
Born on 25th May 1916 Sridev Suman was a renowned social activist from Tehri Garhwal District of Uttarakhand, then Riyasat of Tehri Kingship. He was born at Jaul village, patti Bamund of Tehri Garhwal. His father was a local ayurvedic doctor and his mother a housewife.
When the whole of India was busy fighting for freedom from the colonial rule of the British government, Suman was fearlessly and relentlessly advocating that Tehri Riyasat be free of the brutal rule of the King of Garhwal. He was a great fan and follower of Mahatma Gandhi and practised the nonviolence way for freedom of Tehri.
During his fight with the King of Tehri who was called and reverred as Bolanda Badri (speaking God Badrinath), he demanded complete independence for the Tehri, Garhwal.
On 30 December 1943 he was declared a rebel and arrested by Tehri kingdom.
Suman was incessantly tortured brutally behind bars, very heavy cuffs tied to his hands and legs and was forcibly fed with pieces of stones and glass mixed ( grinded) with his food including the sand mixed roti , and many more physical tortures were applied by the jailer Mohan Singh and other staff. The conspiracy was hatched at the behest of the then king so that he dies gradually while inhaling grinded glass mixed food.
The incessant torture resulted in Sri Dev Suman undertaking the fast unto death hunger strike. This bothered jail staff who under the instructions from the then Tehri, Garhwal King forcibly tried to give him food and water , with no success. After being in prison for 209 days, and on hunger strike for 84 days incessantly, Shri Dev Suman breathed his last on 25 July 1944.
His dead body was mercilessly thrown into the Bhilangna River without a funeral thus disrespecting the sentiments of thousands of his followers in and around Tehri Garhwal. Since that day his birth and death anniversaries were celeberated and commemorated all around the globe as MARTYRS DAY , particularly where the inhabitants of Uttarakhand have their sizeable population with immense piousness and reverence.
