Lok Sabha Question No. 3215 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-15
Subject: Preparation and Release of Dictionary of Martyrs
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: M. K. Raghavan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3215

TO BE ANSWERED ON 15 TH  MARCH, 2021

## DICTIONARY OF MARTYRS OF INDIA'S FREEDOM STRUGGLE

## 3215. SHRI M.K RAGHAVAN:

Will the MINISTER OF CULTURE be pleased to state:

- (a) Whether the Government had prepared and released Dictionary of Martyrs of India's Freedom Struggle (1857-1947) highlighting the sacrificed held by the identified martyrs;
- (b) if  so,  the  back  ground  to  prepare  the  contents  of  this  dictionary  and  the institutes/establishments associated with the preparation of this dictionary
- (c) the  method  of  authentication  done  by  the  government  on  the  contents  and names and activities carried by these martyrs for publication of this dictionary; and
- (d) the  Martyrs  identified  in  Kerala  in  this  dictionary  and  the  details  and  events leading to martyrdom of these personalities?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (I/C) FOR CULTURE & TOURISM (SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL)

- (a) Yes, Sir Government of India commemorated 150 th anniversary of First War of Independence in 2007. One of the projects sanctioned under the commemoration was preparation of National Register of Martyrs, subsequently  called the 'Dictionary of Martyrs'. The  project  envisaged inclusion of names of all martyrs along with biographical notes on them during the  period  from  1857  to  1947  and  covering  the  entire  territory  of  India.  The Ministry  of  Culture  arranged  the  release  of  publications  in  March  2019  and funded the project. This work was entrusted to ICHR which is an autonomous body under Education Ministry which researched and compiled it.
- (b) An  advisory  Committee  comprised  of  historians  and  representatives  of  the Ministry of Culture and National Archives of India decided that the project will produce a series of  volumes  entitled Dictionary of Martyrs: India's Freedom Struggle (1857-1947), containing brief biographical notes based to the extent possible on the archival and other contemporary documents. The Committee also accepted for purpose of this project, a definition of the term 'martyr' and

the  recognized  list  of  freedom  movements  which  the  Government  of  India adopted in 1980 to facilitate the distribution of awards and pensions.

Further,  the  Zonal  Committees  including  (respective  State  Archives)  were constituted  and  historians  were  nominated  as  coordinators  under  whom  a local research team gathered information in every state.

- (c) All the entries in these volumes contains sources at the bottom of every writeups that include Archival documents (official and non-official), contemporary newspapers, private papers, contemporary Congress committees reports and the  Government  (at  centre  and  state  level)  publications  like  Who's  Who  of Indian Martyrs (published by Ministry of Education in 1969, 1972 and 1973 on occasion of Gandhi Centenary Celebrations), secondary sources like books, journals, articles, etc.
- (d) Martyrs belonging to Kerala have been covered in volume 5 of the series with necessary details.