Eram massacre

Eram Massacre
Location of Bhadrak in India
Location Bhadrak, British India
Coordinates 31°38′34″N 74°51′29″E / 31.64286°N 74.85808°E / 31.64286; 74.85808Coordinates: 31°38′34″N 74°51′29″E / 31.64286°N 74.85808°E / 31.64286; 74.85808
Date 28th September 1942
17:37 (6:30 p.m.)
Target Gathering against the British rulers
Attack type
 massacre
Deaths 28-29[1]
Non-fatal injuries
 ~ 60
Perpetrators British Indian Army unit under the DSP Kunjabihari Mohanty.
Number of participants
 5000

Eram is a small village from Odisha, It plays an important role in the history of Indian Independence movement.[2] It is also known as Rakta Tirtha Eram (The Pilgrim of Blood) and the second Jallianwala bagh of India.

Geography

Eram is located in Bhadrak district of Odisha and is 16km away from Basudebpur village of Bhadrak district.

Role in Indian Independence Movement

The village Eram was remote, inaccessible and far from cities, surrounded by the Bay of Bengal and two rivers Gamoi and Kansbans and thick jungles the place was sleepy and silent to reach. From 1920, Eram was a secret place for Utkal Congress meetings, Gopabandhu Das, Harekrushna Mahatab and other Congress leaders used Eram as a place for public meetings to share the messages about Quit India Movement or Non-cooperation Movement of Mahatma Gandhi and to propagate the Gandhian ideals of freedom struggle among the villagers.[3]

1942 Mass attack incident

On 28 September 1942 there was a huge gathering at that place to protest against British Raj and to prepare a course plan of action to fight against British. Under the leadership of Kamala Prasad Kar a crowd of 5000 people gathered at Eram Melana ground. Afraid of this gathering a police force from Basudebpur police station, led by DSP Kunjabihari Mohanty march towards Eram. As like Jaliyanawala Bagh here, DSP Kunjabihari Mohanty acted as General Dyer and opened fire on the huge gathering at 6:30 PM, within few minutes 304 shots were discharged against the crowd,[4] who were performing the agitation against the British rulers in a peaceful way. Since the field was bounded on three sides,[5] therefore, no one was able to get escape from the field. Within some minutes 28 persons were dead on the spot and 56 were injured. Among the dead of Eram massacre includes one woman named Pari Bewa, who is regarded as the only lady martyr of Odisha. For this incident, Eram is popularly known as Rakta Tirtha (The Pilgrim of Blood).

Martyrs list

In the memory of Martyrs, A martyrs’ memorial was built in Eram. It is one of the tourism places in Odisha.[7]

References

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