The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Nizamabad News : Dasarathi's cell in fort prison wears forlorn look

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 17, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Nizamabad

Dasarathi's cell in fort prison wears forlorn look

By P.Ram Mohan

NIZAMABAD, SEPT. 16. While the `Telangana Liberation Day' is celebrated today, one of its veterans' cell in the central prison of the erstwhile Hyderabad State takes on a forlorn look.

Tucked away atop the Indur khilla (Fort Nizamabad) the Dasarathi cell called as it is remains awe-inspiring to visitors even today. The lyrical works inscribed by the famous poet on the four walls repudiating the draconian and barbarous rule were obliterated.

Either unaware of its importance or by sheer negligence of the authorities, the writings on the walls got erased with the passage of time.

Dasarathi Krishnamacharya along with 150 other Telangana armed struggle heroes was incarcerated here during the armed struggle between 1946 and 1948. The other notable crusaders imprisoned here were Vattikota Alwar Swami, Achutrao Deshpande and Shyam Apsangeekar. Subsequently, Alwar Swami had become famous for his novel "Prajala Manishi.'' Dasarathi had written his well-known Telugu verse "Na Telangana Koti Ratnala Veena'' during his incarceration. The cell now annexed to the Sri Raghunatha temple was back in the news again after five-and-a-half decades following the former Union Minister and BJP leader, Ch. Vidyasagar Rao's visit to it recently.

Tributes to freedom fighters

Paying tributes to Dasarathi and other freedom fighters, he recalled their sacrifices for the liberation of Telangana from the clutches of the Nizam's rule and later their contribution for its merger into the Indian Union. January 11, 1948, is a black day in the history of the Nizamabad Central Prison. The political detenus were attacked by the supporters of the Nizam and Majlis Itthehadul Muslimeen activists for reciting "Vande Mataram'' in the prison.

All newspapers across the country had condemned the attack and the incident caused ripples in the Nizam's court, leading to the resignation of a Minister, Ramachary, in protest against the attack, according to the "Nizamabad Swatantrodyama Charitra,'' published by the Swatantrodyama Charitra Parisodhana Samstha.

Surprisingly, no records relating to the political prisoners and the prison are available with the jail authorities here. "We are not having records of even the last 10 years,'' said the Superintendent of the District Prison, Raj Mahesh.

The BJP district president, Y. Lakshminarayana, opines that since the prison cell in which Dasarathi served a sentence is located in a serene place it can be made a museum-cum-library by preserving his works besides the history of the freedom movement.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh

News Update

Stories in this Section

Dasarathi's cell in fort prison wears forlorn look

Prompt payment of service tax stressed

Attack on KCR's office condemned