Ranchi's Old Jail complex, where Dharti Aba Birsa Munda was kept and breathed last in the prison of the Britishers while fighting against imperialism and oppression, would get a new lease of life with series of measures initiated by the Government.
The historic place would see the cell where the legendry freedom fighter was kept getting preserved and displayed with his paintings along with his followers. Inside the 35 acre campus 120 feet high statue of Birsa Munda would be setup along with 'Freedom Walkway' for providing glimpses of his life, museum dedicated to other legends of Jharkhand along with light and sound show to the visitors depicting struggle of their lives.
Center would be providing Rs 25 crore for documentation and developing other facilities at the place which would also depict history and struggle behind Ulgulan of Birsa Munda and Ho, Chero, Santhal and host of other uprisings taken place during the period.
The ceremony orgainsed on Thursday for that also saw participations from successors of the legendaries who were facilitated by Governor Droupadi Murmu, Chief Minister Raghubar Das and Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Joel Oram. The Governor on the occasion recalled the contribution of Jharkhand and its people in nation building while the CM expressed gratitude towards the people.
"We should have paid back the debt of Bhagwan Birsa Munda long back after 70 years of independence which is being done now. We decided to make the place a museum in the memory of Birsa and others like Veer Budhu Bhagat, Sido-Kanhu, Jatra Tana Bhagat, Chand-Bhairav, Nilambar-Pitamber and several others. Jharkhand was the place where struggle against British rule had started much before the national freedom struggle but due to biased history writing their contributions have been overlooked which we are rectifying now," said the CM.