On 19 December, the martyrdom of Kakori martyrs Ashfaqullah Khan and Ram Prasad Bismil was remembered and observed under the banner of ‘Saajhi Shahadat – Saajhi Viraasat’ (Shared martyrdom, shared legacy) by Revolutionary Youth Association (RYA) in Patna. The programme started by remembering the two martyrs and paying silent tribute to them along with recently departed leader, Com. Jalaluddin Ansari of CPI and popular poet and writer Prof. Surendra Snigdha. The main speaker for the programme was the noted historian Prof. Imtiaz Ahmad. While addressing the audience, he said that the key demand of today’s time was to take forward and strengthen the legacy of Bhagat Singh and his comrades. The history of this nation is one of shared martyrdom and shared legacy, which the central government of the day along with the Sangh-brigade is trying to destroy with its hateful and divisive policies. The India that the revolutionaries dreamt of was one that would take forward together people belonging to every caste, community and religion. However, this India is being subjected to continuous assaults and these assaults will have to be responded while there is still time. The meeting was also addressed by RYA state secretary Com. Navin Kumar and CPI(ML) leaders Nasim Ansari, Ramnarayan Singh and Ehtesham. Tariq Anwar read out excerpts from the booklet on Ashfaqullah Khan and Ram Prasad Bismil that has been brought out by the Jan Sanskriti Manch. Vijay Singh, a scholar on Bhagat Singh and other martyrs also addressed the meeting and presented a book on Bhagat Singh to Prof. Imtiaz Ahmed as a memento.
