MUSHALPUR, Sept 1 - Balidan Divas was observed at Khairani in Baksa district recently to commemorate the martyrdom of Major Durga Malla of Azad Hind Fauz, who was hung by the British on August 25, 1944 in Delhi for his anti-British activities during the Freedom Movement.
Under the aegis of Durga Malla Smriti Sangha of Khairani, Balidan Divas was observed with a two-day programme to pay tribute to the Gorkha martyr. The observation was marked by a mass cleanliness drive, drawing contest, sapling plantation programme, quiz, games and sports, open meeting and many other programmes at Pagladiyapaar LP School.
A statue of Major Durga Malla was unveiled by Loknath Upadhyaya, chairman of Gorkha Development Council. A seminar entitled, �Contribution of Gorkhas in Nation-building and National Security� was chaired by Netrabhushan Khadka.
The open session, chaired by Raghunath Sarma, was inaugurated by Krishna Bhujel, vice president of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangha (BGP) and was attended by Baksa Deputy Commissioner Mahadananda Hazarika,
CK Shreshtha, eminent writer and one of the founders of BGP from Kalimpong, Professor Bhabani Prasad Sarma of Bongaigaon College and others released the souvenir of the programme.
Speaking on the occasion, CK Shrestha said that Balidan Divas is observed to pay tributes to all the martyrs of India�s Freedom Struggle along with Major Durga Malla. He added that although a statue of Major Durga Malla has been erected in the Parliament premises in New Delhi, much remains to be done to familiarise Major Durga Malla like other martyrs of the Freedom Movement at the national level.
