Context

Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, recently released the Dictionary of Martyrs of India’s Freedom Struggle, in New Delhi.

About

• It is a five-volume dictionary, contains an account of the martyrs from India’s First War of Independence in 1857, to India’s Independence in 1947. This is the first attempt at compiling the names of martyrs on this scale, an effort, to not only cherish the past, but also a way to secure the future.
• Its aim is to nurture and recall the brave deeds of the heroes of our freedom struggle to have a positive influence on the future generations, and to inspire them to think of “India First.”
• The project was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture to the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) to commemorate the 150th anniversary of uprising of 1857.
• The publication of "Dictionary of Martyrs: India's Freedom Struggle (1857-1947)"has been brought out in five volumes (zone wise) as given below:
• • Volume 1, Parts I & II: More than 4400 martyrs of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have been listed.
  • Volume 2, Parts I & II: More than 3500 martyrs of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir have been listed.
  • Volume 3: The number of martyrs covered in this volume is more than 1400. This volume covers the martyrs of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Sind.
  • Volume 4: The numbers of martyrs covered in this volume is more than 3300. This volume covers the martyrs of Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura.
  • Volume 5: The number of martyrs covered in this volume is more than 1450. This volume covers the martyrs of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
    
    

    Martyr as per the “Dictionary of Martyrs” Martyr has been defined as a person who died or who was killed in action or in detention, or was awarded capital punishment while participating in the national movement for emancipation of India. It includes ex-INA or ex-military personnel who died fighting the British in addition to the martyrs of 1857 Uprising, Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (1919), Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22), Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-34), Quit India Movement (1942-44), Revolutionary Movements (1915-34), Kissan Movements, Tribal Movements, Agitation for Responsible Government in the Princely States (Prajamandal), Indian National Army (INA, 1943-45), Royal Indian Navy Upsurge (RIN, 1946), etc. Information of about 13,500 martyrs has been recorded in these volumes.

    Followings are other few efforts in this direction:

    • National War Memorial, or Rashtriya Samar Smaarak, New Delhi
    • National Police Memorial
    • The world’s tallest statue, the Statue of Unity, in honour of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
    • In memory of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the Azad Hind Fauj, the Kranti Mandir has been established at Red Fort.
    • Other museums are also being built to commemorate the brave deeds of the Adivasi heroes.