1857 celebrations with soil from Last Emepror's grave

New Delhi, July 13: A handful of soil from the grave of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar could form the bedrock of celebrations of the 150th anniversary of India's first attempt to drive the British out of its soil.

At the inaugural meeting of the national committee for the celebrations headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, one of the major proposals was to bring soil from the grave of Bahadur Shah Zafar in Yangon, Myanmar and build a memorial at the Red Fort to open the year-long celebrations.

The suggestion, which came from Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande, could in all probability get the approval of the Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh for organising the celebrations.

Bahadur Shah Zafar led the country's First War of Independence in 1857, which originated in Meerut when British sepoy Mangal Pandey fired the first shot against the Empire.

''Leaders of all parties who attended the meeting praised the government's initiative to commemorate the historic event,'' Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi told reporters after a three-hour meeting held at the Prime Minister's residence.

Pakistan and Bangladesh, which share the history of pre-partition India, are also to be roped in the celebrations, he added.

Several Chief Ministers and Governors, cultural personalities and intellectuals attended the meeting chaired by the Prime Minister.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, opposition leader L K Advani and several cabinet ministers including Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Mr Arjun Singh, were also among those who attended the meeting.

The 150th anniversary celebrations, which begin on August 15 next year, will be at two levels, one at the national level and the other at state-level. The country will celebrate simultaneously the 75th anniversary of the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh and the 100th anniversary of his birth and 60 years of independence.

The GoM will finalise the shape of the programmes based on the suggestions raised during today's meeting, Mr Dasmunsi said.

An implementation committee will also be formed with the Culture Ministry as the nodal agency, he added.

The suggestion to bring soil from the grave of Bahadur Shah Zafar from Yangon was appreciated by those who participated in the meeting, he said.

Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was exiled by the British to the then Burma after the First War of Independence was put down, died a lonely death in the captivity though he had yearned to be buried in his home soil. His grave now stands in Yangon, the capital of Myanmar.

UNI