Hemu Kalani: Difference between revisions

| name        = Hemu Kalani<br /> هيمو ڪالاڻي

| organization       = [[All India Students Federation]]  

|language

 

other_names =

'''Hemu Kalani''' ([[Sindhi language|Sindhi]]: هيمو ڪالاڻي) (23 March 1923 – 21 January 1943) was a [[Sindhis|Sindhi]] revolutionary and freedom fighter during the [[Indian Independence Movement]]. He was a leader of Swaraj Sena,<ref>https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/58672/1/Eminent_Parliamentarians_Series_Shahed_Hemu_Kalani.pdf</ref> a student organisation which was affiliated with [[All India Students Federation]] (AISF). He was one of the youngest revolutionaries to be martyred for the nation's freedom struggle, being executed by the British when he was only 19, two months before his 20th birthday.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://sindhuputra.com/hemuji.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=23 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124132559/http://sindhuputra.com/hemuji.html |archive-date=24 January 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Hemu Kalani was born in [[Sukkur]], [[Sindh]] (now in [[Pakistan]]) on 23 March 1923.<ref>{{cite news|last1=نادر سولنگي |title=سنڌ جو ڀڳت سنگهه شهيد هيمون ڪالاڻي |url=http://www.onlineindusnews.com/2016/01/%D8%B3%D9%86%DA%8C-%D8%AC%D9%88-%DA%80%DA%B3%D8%AA-%D8%B3%D9%86%DA%AF%D9%87%D9%87-%D8%B4%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D9%87%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86-%DA%AA%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%DA%BB%D9%8A/ |access-date=23 January 2016 |agency=Online indus News |date=20 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129085717/http://www.onlineindusnews.com/2016/01/%D8%B3%D9%86%DA%8C-%D8%AC%D9%88-%DA%80%DA%B3%D8%AA-%D8%B3%D9%86%DA%AF%D9%87%D9%87-%D8%B4%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D9%87%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86-%DA%AA%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%DA%BB%D9%8A/ |archive-date=29 January 2016  }}</ref> (His birthday coincides with the day [[Bhagat Singh]], [[Sukhdev Thapar|Sukhdev]] & [[Shivaram Rajguru|Rajguru]] were hanged).  He was the son of Pesumal Kalani and Jethi Bai. As a child and young man he campaigned with his friends for boycotts of foreign goods and tried to persuade people to use [[Swadeshi]] goods. He was drawn to revolutionary activities and started participating in acts of protests with the aim of driving out the [[British Empire|British]]. He was involved in raids and in the burning of vehicles belonging to the [[British Raj|Raj]].

Hemu Kalani joined [[Mahatma Gandhi]]'s [[Indian independence movement|Quit India movement]] when it was started in 1942. Support for the movement in Sindh was such that the British rulers had to send special troops consisting of European battalions. Hemu Kalani found out that a railway train of these troops and their supplies would be passing through his local town and decided to derail it by removing the [[fishplate]]s from the railway track. This despite the fact that neither he nor his colleagues had the necessary tools and so had to use a rope as a means to loosen the fixings.<ref>https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/58672/1/Eminent_Parliamentarians_Series_Shahed_Hemu_Kalani.pdf</ref>

They were seen by the British troops before being able to complete the sabotage. Hemu was caught, imprisoned, and tortured in an attempt to get him to reveal the names of his co-conspirators. He refused to divulge any information, was put on trial and sentenced to death. The people of Sindh petitioned the [[Viceroy]] for mercy but the condition of granting it was that the authorities must be told the identity of his co-conspirators. He again refused to pass on the information and he was hanged on 21 January 1943.<ref>https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/58672/1/Eminent_Parliamentarians_Series_Shahed_Hemu_Kalani.pdf</ref>

It is said that Hemu Kalani was so happy upon being handed the death sentence that, contrary to usual, he gained a good deal of weight during the time between his sentencing and his execution.  On the day of his execution, he appeared extremely overjoyed, and walked to the gallows with a copy of the Bhagavad Gita in his hands, smiling and humming the whole way.

Hemu Kalani Statue near sadar tehsil, Hemu Kalani road, Agra.

erected Statue by Agra Sindhi Samaj & Hemu Kalani murti sthapana samiti, Agra.

* Adipur city in Kutch, Gujarat, has also Hemu Kalani Statue near Gandhi Samadhi, Maitri School road.

* [[Tonk, India|Tonk]] city (Rajasthan) has erected a statue of Young Martyr '''''Hemu Kalani''''' at the Sawai Madhopur Circle.

* [[Ahmedabad]] city (Gujarat) has erected Statue of Amar Shaheed Shree Hemu Kalani at the Rajavir Circle.

* [[Indore]] city has named a road intersection after Hemu Kalani and placed his statue at the center of the intersection.

* A statue of Hemu Kalani is located in the [[Parliament]] complex in front of the Deputy Speaker's office.<ref name="one">[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030819/nation.htm#18 PM to unveil Kalani’s statue]. Tribuneindia.com (19 August 2003). Retrieved on 2018-12-11.</ref>

* [[Chembur]], a suburb of [[Mumbai]] with a large Sindhi population, has Hemu Kalani Marg named after the famous freedom fighter.

* [In Ulhasnagarhas erected Statue of Shaheed Hemu Kalani at the crossing of the road (chowk).

* Jodhpur city (Rajasthan) has named a road intersection after Hemu Kalani and placed his statue at the center of the intersection.

* [[Ajmer]] city (Rajasthan) has erected Statue of Shaheed Hemu Kalani at the Diggi Bazar Chowk.

* [[Ajmer]] city (Rajasthan) has a locality in Lakhan Kothri called Hemu Kalani Mohalla.

* [[Delhi]] city (Lajpat Nagar), located a senior secondary school named Shaheed Hemu Kalani Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya.

* [[Kanpur]] city, has a park named Hemu Kalani park located in the Sindhi Colony area named after Shaheed Hemu Kalani.

* [[Kota, Rajasthan|Kota]] city, has a community hall Hemu Kalani Samudayik Bhawan located in the Sahjidera area named after Shaheed Hemu Kalani.

* [[Dhule]] city in [[Maharashtra]] has Shaheed Hemu Kalani Road.

* [[Amalner]] city in [[Maharashtra]] has Shaheed Hemu Kalani Road.

* [[Pimpri-Chinchwad]]  city in [[Maharashtra]] has a children's park named Hemu Kalani Garden and society named Hemu Kalani Housing Society located in Pimpri.

* [[Bhilwara]] city in [[Rajasthan]] has a Road Square in Sindhu Nagar named as Hemu Kalani Chowk.

* [[Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh|Bilaspur]] city in [[Chhattisgarh]] has a locality named after him called Hemu Nagar.

* [[Neemuch]] city in [[Madhya Pradesh]] has a Road Square named Hemu Kalani Chowk with an erected Statue of Shaheed Hemu Kalani.

* Bikaner city (Rajasthan) has named a road intersection after Hemu Kalani and placed his statue at the center of the intersection.

*A poem " Hemu Kalani"  was written on 25 January 1943 by Indra Bahadur Khare just after Hemu's hanging on 21 January 1943, and it is published in 2017 after a span of 74 years.

* The [[Raipur]] city of Chhattisgarh has a square in the main street called Hemu Kalani Chowk.

*[[Korba, Chhattisgarh|Korba]] city of Chhattisgarh has a Big community hall near the Rani Road area called Amar Shaheed Hemu Kalani Dharamshala.

*[[Bhavnagar]] city in [[Gujarat]] has a Road Square at Gopal Park in Sindhunagar has erected Statue of Amar Shaheed Hemu Kalani at the crossing of the road (chowk) named as Hemu Kalani Circle on 21 January 2020.