Gandhi Maidan

Gandhi Maidan
Gandhi Maidan
Location Patna, India
25°36′28.77″N 85°10′03.06″E / 25.6079917°N 85.1675167°E / 25.6079917; 85.1675167
Operated by Patna Municipal Corporation
Open All year

Gandhi maidan, is a historic ground in Patna near the banks of Ganges River, in Bihar, India. The Golghar falls to its west.During the period of 1824-1833,under the British rule it was used as golf course & horse racing track & was called Patna lawn.It is spread across 60 acres of land.

History

Several movements were launched on the Patna Lawns during the Indian freedom struggle, the most important being the Champaran movement and the Quit India movement of 1942. Many prominent leaders of the Indian Independence Movement, such as Mohandas K. Gandhi, Rajendra Prasad,[1]Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Jaya Prakash Narayan and Sri Krishna Sinha addressed their rallies from here. It was said that a leader had not arrived until he had addressed a rally at the Patna Lawns.

The successful opposition movement to Indira Gandhi was also launched from this historic ground.

This ground was considered as hotspot for freedom movement rallies and major activists from the Indian freedom struggle namely Mohandas K. Gandhi, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel, Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Maulana Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi have made memorable speeches here. Presently, this ground is being used for purposes like private parties, mass prayers and trade fairs. The flag-raising ceremony on the Indian Independence Day and Republic Day is held here by the Chief Minister and Governor of Bihar respectively.

In the north western corner of the ground lies the Gandhi Sangrahalaya, which showcases various pictures and records of Mahatma Gandhi's presence and connections with Bihar. During the year 1947, it used to be the house of the Education Minister, Dr. Syed Mahmud. These grounds are situated near Ashok Rajpath in Moradpur and are 2.5 km from central Patna.[2]

During the Bihar visit of Mahatma Gandhi at the time of Champaran Satyagraha, Bapu addressed a huge meeting at Patna Lawns. At that meeting for the first time Indians in general were allowed to visit Patna Lawn without any restrictions. Prior to this meeting entry to Patna Lawns was restricted to Europeans and the elite (Loyalist Indians). Since then this lawn has been rechristened as Gandhi Maidan.

World's tallest statue of Mahatma Gandhi

World's tallest statue of Mahatma Gandhi

The world's tallest Gandhi statue was unveiled at the historic Gandhi Maidan. The 70-feet tall bronze statue was inaugurated by the CM Nitish Kumar on 15 February 2013.

Serial bomb blasts

On 27 October 2013, there were six serial bomb blasts at Gandhi Maidan just before the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi reached there to address a huge gathering. Eight people were killed and 66 injured in the serial blasts.[3]

Stampede

On 3 October 2014 a stampede took place in Gandhi Maidan, on the occasion of Dussehra festival, in which reportedly 32 people died.[4][5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kamat. "Great freedom Fighters". Kamat's archive. Archived from the original on 20 February 2006. Retrieved 25 February 2006.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  3. ↑ "5 killed in 6 serial bomb blasts at Modi rally". The Times of India. 27 October 2013. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  4. ↑ "Patna stampede: 32 dead, PM Modi sanctions Rs 2 lakh for kin of departed, Rs 50,000 for critically hurt". Zee News. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  5. ↑ "At least 32 die in stampede during Indian festival". fresnobee. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.