‘Bankipore Jail, Patna Collectorate ought to have been saved, celebrated on Azadi fest’
8 min readBy PTI
PATNA: A historic jail by which quite a few freedom fighters had been imprisoned, Dutch-era Patna Collectorate that witnessed the 1857 Mutiny and different landmarks within the metropolis related to India’s battle for ‘Azadi’ ought to have been preserved and celebrated immediately, many heritage lovers stated on the eve of Independence Day.
As India is all geared as much as mark the seventy fifth anniversary of Independence on Monday, many individuals, together with commoners and area consultants, on Sunday lamented that the Nineteenth-century Bankipore Central Jail, 1885-built Anjuman Islamia Hall, centuries-old Collectorate, amongst different heritage buildings, within the Bihar capital, have been demolished within the final decade or so.
Identified with its attribute red-brick construction and turrets serving as watchtowers, the landmark jail, positioned on Fraser Road close to the Patna Junction, was razed in 2010 to make approach for the sprawling Buddha Smriti Park.
Amid an outcry from a number of quarters, a small portion of it was preserved within the verdant environment of the park.
A plaque put in close to it reads, “Remains of the Bankipore Jail – First reference in archival records 1895. Shifted in the year 1994. Many freedom fighters were imprisoned here.”
Many nationalist leaders and freedom fighters had been incarcerated in it every so often, together with through the Quit India motion that started in August 1942 on Mahatma Gandh’s name.
Congress chief Rajendra Prasad, who later grew to become India’s first president in 1950, was additionally stored on this jail by the British authorities.
His granddaughter Tara Sinha in his biography, has a chapter on his life in Bankipore Jail, and says Prasad was imprisoned there from “August 9, 1942 to June 5, 1945”.
“Prison life is bound to be irksome in so far as it deprives one of freedom, but I should say that I did not, after all, have a bad time in Bankipore Jail,” Rajendra Prasad: A Brief Biography quotes Prasad within the chapter.
According to the ebook ‘Builders of Modern India – Rajendra Prasad’ by famend scholar Kali Kinkar Datta, when members of an official committee visited the previous jail in Patna and requested if he wished to be launched, Prasad had replied, “Not, until and unless all the others were released”.
Heritage lovers from Delhi to Patna, together with students and conservation architects, stated the preservation of constructed heritage is crucial to “keep these stories of freedom struggle alive” and demolishing the jail or different constructions having an affiliation with it, was a “grave mistake”.
Some urged that the Bankipore Central Jail might have been become a vacationer attraction on the traces of the historic Cellular Jail in Port Blair.
Patna native and analysis scholar Pushkar Raj stated he felt distressed over a “wave of demolition” of heritage buildings which have taken place within the metropolis within the final 10-12 years, the most recent being the historic centuries-old Patna Collectorate, a cluster of previous buildings from Dutch period in addition to British interval, positioned on the banks of Ganga.
“The Collectorate’s buildings had seen the Dutch trade and the British rule here. Its walls, literally have heard those stories and seen and witnessed so much history in the past few centuries. These buildings should have been preserved and celebrated today by both the government as well as people, especially when India is celebrating 75 years of Independence and the legacy of freedom fighters, ” he stated.
The Collectorate has additionally been a silent witness to the 1857 Mutiny — India’s First War of Independence; it has seen the start of Bihar and Orissa as a separate province when Patna become its capital; its buildings have seen two World Wars, weathered lethal earthquakes and witnessed the “dawn of Independence on August 15, 1947”, when the Union Jack on its high was changed with the Indian tricolour, heritage lovers stated.
On this seventy fifth anniversary of Azadi, residents should additionally pledge to work collectively to “reverse this trend of demolition” in Patna, they stated.
But, it was not simply the central jail the place a lot of historical past occurred through the freedom battle that Patna has misplaced, because the Anjuman Islamia Hall on the Ashok Rajpath was demolished in December 2018 for a brand new advanced.
“Anjuman Islamia Hall was a historic building, established when even the modern province of Bihar was not born. So, many legendary personalities associated with the freedom movement have visited the Hall and addressed people, and many key conferences and other events had taken place in it. It was a priceless heritage. The new building will carry its name, but not its legacy,” stated Bihar-born Md Umar Ashraf, a heritage fanatic.
A senior authorities official stated Independence Day can be celebrated with nice patriotic fervour and spirit, and lots of public buildings can be lit up akin to Patna DM House, Patna Commissioner’s Office Building, each British-era constructions; Gyan Bhawan, Bapu Sabhagar, and S Okay Memorial Hall.
Short movies on among the freedom fighters from Bihar have additionally been launched by the state authorities on the event.
Conservation architect Amrita Jena stated Patna is a historic metropolis, and constructed heritage needs to be preserved as they’re our “windows to the past” and “tangible remains of an era gone by”, and demolishing them means closing these home windows endlessly.
“Demolition of the historic jail or the Patna Collectorate was definitely a lost opportunity, as these could have been preserved, restored, reused and showcased today when India marks 75 years of its Independence. New projects could have been built elsewhere, but not at the cost of heritage, ” she stated.
PATNA: A historic jail by which quite a few freedom fighters had been imprisoned, Dutch-era Patna Collectorate that witnessed the 1857 Mutiny and different landmarks within the metropolis related to India’s battle for ‘Azadi’ ought to have been preserved and celebrated immediately, many heritage lovers stated on the eve of Independence Day.
As India is all geared as much as mark the seventy fifth anniversary of Independence on Monday, many individuals, together with commoners and area consultants, on Sunday lamented that the Nineteenth-century Bankipore Central Jail, 1885-built Anjuman Islamia Hall, centuries-old Collectorate, amongst different heritage buildings, within the Bihar capital, have been demolished within the final decade or so.
Identified with its attribute red-brick construction and turrets serving as watchtowers, the landmark jail, positioned on Fraser Road close to the Patna Junction, was razed in 2010 to make approach for the sprawling Buddha Smriti Park.
Amid an outcry from a number of quarters, a small portion of it was preserved within the verdant environment of the park.
A plaque put in close to it reads, “Remains of the Bankipore Jail – First reference in archival records 1895. Shifted in the year 1994. Many freedom fighters were imprisoned here.”
Many nationalist leaders and freedom fighters had been incarcerated in it every so often, together with through the Quit India motion that started in August 1942 on Mahatma Gandh’s name.
Congress chief Rajendra Prasad, who later grew to become India’s first president in 1950, was additionally stored on this jail by the British authorities.
His granddaughter Tara Sinha in his biography, has a chapter on his life in Bankipore Jail, and says Prasad was imprisoned there from “August 9, 1942 to June 5, 1945”.
“Prison life is bound to be irksome in so far as it deprives one of freedom, but I should say that I did not, after all, have a bad time in Bankipore Jail,” Rajendra Prasad: A Brief Biography quotes Prasad within the chapter.
According to the ebook ‘Builders of Modern India – Rajendra Prasad’ by famend scholar Kali Kinkar Datta, when members of an official committee visited the previous jail in Patna and requested if he wished to be launched, Prasad had replied, “Not, until and unless all the others were released”.
Heritage lovers from Delhi to Patna, together with students and conservation architects, stated the preservation of constructed heritage is crucial to “keep these stories of freedom struggle alive” and demolishing the jail or different constructions having an affiliation with it, was a “grave mistake”.
Some urged that the Bankipore Central Jail might have been become a vacationer attraction on the traces of the historic Cellular Jail in Port Blair.
Patna native and analysis scholar Pushkar Raj stated he felt distressed over a “wave of demolition” of heritage buildings which have taken place within the metropolis within the final 10-12 years, the most recent being the historic centuries-old Patna Collectorate, a cluster of previous buildings from Dutch period in addition to British interval, positioned on the banks of Ganga.
“The Collectorate’s buildings had seen the Dutch trade and the British rule here. Its walls, literally have heard those stories and seen and witnessed so much history in the past few centuries. These buildings should have been preserved and celebrated today by both the government as well as people, especially when India is celebrating 75 years of Independence and the legacy of freedom fighters, ” he stated.
The Collectorate has additionally been a silent witness to the 1857 Mutiny — India’s First War of Independence; it has seen the start of Bihar and Orissa as a separate province when Patna become its capital; its buildings have seen two World Wars, weathered lethal earthquakes and witnessed the “dawn of Independence on August 15, 1947”, when the Union Jack on its high was changed with the Indian tricolour, heritage lovers stated.
On this seventy fifth anniversary of Azadi, residents should additionally pledge to work collectively to “reverse this trend of demolition” in Patna, they stated.
But, it was not simply the central jail the place a lot of historical past occurred through the freedom battle that Patna has misplaced, because the Anjuman Islamia Hall on the Ashok Rajpath was demolished in December 2018 for a brand new advanced.
“Anjuman Islamia Hall was a historic building, established when even the modern province of Bihar was not born. So, many legendary personalities associated with the freedom movement have visited the Hall and addressed people, and many key conferences and other events had taken place in it. It was a priceless heritage. The new building will carry its name, but not its legacy,” stated Bihar-born Md Umar Ashraf, a heritage fanatic.
A senior authorities official stated Independence Day can be celebrated with nice patriotic fervour and spirit, and lots of public buildings can be lit up akin to Patna DM House, Patna Commissioner’s Office Building, each British-era constructions; Gyan Bhawan, Bapu Sabhagar, and S Okay Memorial Hall.
Short movies on among the freedom fighters from Bihar have additionally been launched by the state authorities on the event.
Conservation architect Amrita Jena stated Patna is a historic metropolis, and constructed heritage needs to be preserved as they’re our “windows to the past” and “tangible remains of an era gone by”, and demolishing them means closing these home windows endlessly.
“Demolition of the historic jail or the Patna Collectorate was definitely a lost opportunity, as these could have been preserved, restored, reused and showcased today when India marks 75 years of its Independence. New projects could have been built elsewhere, but not at the cost of heritage, ” she stated.
