West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday said efforts are on to change the country's history for a "political purpose" and a true leader should take along all irrespective of caste or religion.
Banerjee without naming anyone said politicians are making a concerted effort to change India's rich history of its struggle for freedom.
The effort to change is being made so that the succeeding generations are not aware of the truth of the freedom movement, she said inaugurating the Alipore Independence Museum.
"There is need to preserve the history of the country's freedom struggle ... We are doing the same thing at the Bengal Assembly where old files, including those related to Netaji, have been released and digitized," she said.
Advertisement
Recounting the presence of Mahatma Gandhi in the city when the country became free to ensure peace and communal harmony, Banerjee said, "We don't need another bout of divide and rule politics.
"Our religions may be different, but for a neta (leader), there should not be any difference on the basis of the people's caste, creed and religion. A leader should take all his subjects along," she said.
Banerjee said that on the 75th year of Independence, the museum at Alipore Jail is dedicated to the countless freedom fighters who have laid down their lives to secure the country's freedom from the British rule.
Advertisement
"The aim is to turn this jail into a museum to preserve its rich heritage and history," she said.
Before the conversion of this jail to a museum began all the inmates were shifted to the correctional home at Baruipur, which has modern facilities.
The 112-year-old high-security Alipore Central Correctional home was closed in 2019 for security purposes after all its inmates were shifted to other correctional homes. Repair and renovation work was then carried out and it was turned into a museum.
The jail had as its prisoners at various times freedom fighters and leaders like Sri Aurobindo, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Sarat Chandra Bose, Bidhan Chandra Roy and many other stalwarts during the Independence movement.
Several freedom fighters were executed at Alipore Jail.
The dilapidated cells of the freedom fighters have been preserved, as also the old gallows of the jail and have been thrown open to the public.There is also a coffee house and food kiosks for visitors.
(With PTI inputs)
