‘Govt aims to highlight the unsung heroes of Independence movement’, Union Minister says at IANS event

New Delhi, Jan 27 : Union minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said on Wednesday that while a narrative has been set by some people that only they were the mainstays of our freedom struggle, the government’s endeavour has been to highlight the other unsung heroes who brought glory to the nation.

In this context, Pandey, the Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, praised the efforts of news agency IANS in evoking the feeling of nationalism, by highlighting forgotten incidents of India’s freedom struggle.

While addressing a select audience during the official screening of ‘The Last Push’, a documentary presented by IANS on Indian Navy’s mutiny of 1946 which has been directed by Sujay, Pandey said if the feeling of nationalism is not awakened among the citizens of a country, that nation cannot progress.

The documentary is co-presented by the global fabless semiconductor company, Mediatek, and the award-winning PR and digital agency, Kaizzen Communications.

“This effort by IANS and its Editor in Chief Sandeep Bamzai is a significant step towards achieving that objective,” Pandey said.

He added that earlier, not much attention was paid to the contributions of several forgotten heroes of India’s glorious past.

Referring to Ahom general Lachit Barphukan’s victory against the Mughal army, the minister said that “today people know about his contributions because our endeavour is to highlight the contributions of such forgotten heroes of India”.

“Some people say that only they have contributed towards India’s freedom. However, our point of view is that there have been others too who fought for the country,” Pandey said.

Informing that he too has been a student of film journalism, the minister praised the title of the documentary, saying that in any struggle, the last push is most significant.

The Naval mutiny too was an important step towards shaking the British empire’s rule in India, he said.

The 30-minute documentary is based on the book titled ‘1946: Royal Indian Navy Mutiny, Last War of Independence’ written by Pramod Kapoor.

Kapoor was also present during the screening of the documentary.

Earlier, speaking on the occasion, Sandeep Bamzai said that the documentary is an effort by IANS under the Freedom of India series to highlight all incidents and rebellions which occurred before Independence. (IANS)