With the ambitious Shaheed Smarak getting the finishing touches, the Rs 600-crore memorial — built to commemorate the sacrifices of the heroes of the first revolt of 1857 — is nearly ready to be thrown open to the public here.
The Haryana Government has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the project.
The memorial on the Ambala-Delhi National Highway stands tall to narrate the untold stories of the unsung heroes of the first revolt.
It houses 22 galleries and a 63-metre-tall lotus tower, while a “Budha Bargad” (a tree replica) will play the role of a narrator to tell the story of the 1857 revolt.
Historians believe nine hours before the start of mutiny at Meerut on May 10, 1857, the 60th and 5th regiments openly revolted at Ambala. However, their planning could not succeed.
Shaheed Smarak serves as a powerful reminder of Ambala’s contribution to the country’s first freedom struggle. The memorial brings to light the stories of lesser-known heroes who played a crucial role in the struggle but remained absent from the chapters of history. The memorial will showcase the first war of Indian independence in 1857, its circumstances, events that happened in Ambala, followed by the events in other part of Haryana and across the country.
Through artefacts, portraits and interactive exhibits, it captures the spirit of sacrifice, courage and patriotism that defined the uprising. The galleries of the museum also celebrate traditional and local art forms. The galleries have different themes, and to further enhance the beauty and curiosity, artists have used jute, phulkari, sarkanda, brass, iron, terra-cotta and other material.
A team of experts from a consulting agency working on the museum said the visitors would get to know about the real history behind the first revolt — the arrival of the British, trade, exploitation, the planning of the revolt, struggle, sacrifices and the brutality the heroes of the revolt faced. The tree has been chosen to be the narrator as heroes of the revolt used to be hanged on trees.
With the help of interactive panels, augmented reality, holographic image projections, short films, 360-degree immersive projection, other illustrations and facsimiles of rare documents and letters, they will get to know about the real history. Every gallery narrates a different story, and it will take at least seven hours to see the memorial in detail.
The director of the smarak, Dr Kuldeep Saini, said, “The civil and artwork has been completed; all gadgets have been installed and at present, the final touches and deep cleaning work are underway. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has requested the PM for the inauguration and we are hopeful of getting a date soon. Around 130 short films (two to 34-minute long) and light and sound and laser shows have been prepared to narrate the stories of the martyrs.”
“Soil has been collected from places across the country where the revolt took place and where the heroes were killed. People will be able to pay their tributes to them. We have made efforts to make the museum immersive and interactive. The visitors will get real-time experience and feel the atmosphere of 1857,” he said.
Meanwhile, Haryana Cabinet Minister Anil Vij, who played a key role in this project, said the memorial was ready for inauguration and some cosmetic touches were being given.
He said the memorial had been built to commemorate the sacrifice of unsung heroes who laid down their lives but never got the due credit.
“Shaheed Smarak is an attempt to tell the real history to the people of this country. We want it to be inaugurated by the PM. A team of historians has identified nearly 700 people who had sacrificed their lives and their names and the names of their villages are being written in golden letters. It has also been decided that the anniversary of the first revolt will be celebrated at the memorial every year,” he said.