Nalgarha, Noida: A legacy neglected
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Nalgarha, Noida: A legacy neglected

The story of Bhagat Singh, bombs and martyrs is etched in every corner of this village in Sector 145. Yet, its residents are oblivious to its historical importance.

Nalgarha, Noida: A legacy neglected

Nalgarha, a little-known place in Sector 145 of Noida, has witnessed India’s struggle for freedom from close quarters. Lost somewhere in the pages of history books, this village used to serve as a hideout for many revolutionaries, including Bhagat Singh.

The residents of Nalgarha say that in 1927, after Bhagat Singh killed the British officer John Saunders to avenge the killing of Lala Lajpat Rai, he — along with Colonel Karnail Singh and others — escaped to Nalgarha to evade arrest. It is from here that they planned their battles against the British Raj for two long years.

According to historians, Nalgarha is still home to a legacy from the time — a rock that was supposedly used by Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries to make crude bombs. It has one depression, created to stir the explosive mixture. One such bomb made here was lobbed in the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi in 1929 by Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt.

Harvinder Singh, a priest at the local gurudwara, told City Spidey that the historical rock had been kept in the local gurudwara since 1953. Manjeet Kaur, daughter-in-law of Colonel Karnail Singh, however feels that the rock has been the object of the government’s neglect for years.

In 1952, Colonel Karnail Singh decided to settle in this little hamlet, and his family still lives here. Kaur told City Spidey that her father-in-law had brought them to this place after India's independence. “He somehow believed that this was the place from where the country got its independence. He also requested us never to leave the place,” she adds.

Last year, Noida Authority had announced that it would make a memorial park, or a Shaheed Smarak, in memory of martyr Bhagat Singh. Though land has been earmarked for the smarak and the budget finalised, construction is yet to take off.

When City Spidey contacted Authority officials about why construction has been delayed, they said the earlier tender had to be cancelled over a financial dispute with the contractor, and a fresh one is likely to be floated soon.     

If the Authority doesn’t act sooner, an extremely important piece of history will be erased forever. The younger generation will perhaps never come to know of the greatness of their small village — and the loss will be unfathomable!