Financial crisis is known to make the most unbelievable of things happen with the utmost of ease at times. No one is spared from the clutches of this phenomenon during which times call for desperate measures to be taken for sustained existence. Such a tragedy has occurred with a research centre in West Bengal’s East Midnapore district.
The tragic story revolves around the degrading transformation of the historic research centre Nimtouri Smriti Soudha into an establishment that hosts weddings and seminars for outsiders. This step has been taken in order to resolve the financial crisis through which the establishment is currently going through.
The historically important and relevant research centre located at Nimtouri under the jurisdiction of the Tamluk police station is said to have been established way back in the days of India’s independence. It was formed by the renowned freedom fighter Sushil Kumar Dhara who later on became a minister in West Bengal’s state government. The institute was primarily formed in those days to facilitate research work on the Indian War of Independence as well as the Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar.
Incidentally Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar happened to be the first independent government of India while the rest of the country still lay under the clutches of the British colonial rule. It was way back in 1942 that the organization was established by Satish Samanta at East Midnapore’s Dakshin Narikelda village under Tamluk police station. The government had run for almost 21 months uninterrupted under the helm of Satish Samanta who was the “Sarbadhinayak” or the “Supreme leader”.
Sushil Kumar Dhara who was the founder of the research institute happened to be the right-hand man of Satish Samanta and hence a man of fortitude and significance in the Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar. The visionary dream of the men could not see absolute fulfilment but Sarkar envisioned an idea to let the future generations know about them and their stories and draw inspiration from them.
He established the Nimtouri Smriti Soudha as a result a few years after India’s independence in 1947. He affixed Nimtouri to be the suited place for the institute’s establishment just beside NH-41. His aim was to enlighten the future generations with stories of Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar along with other movements of India during the colonial era that paved way for the nation’s independence.
The research centre boasts of an entire library full of books that are both rare and bear immeasurable historical significance. Many rare and unseen photographs belonging from the days of freedom struggle have captured many moments of India’s struggle for independence. Along with these many memorabilia like Charan Kabi Mukunda Das’ harmonium too find shelter in the establishment.
President Pranab Mukherjee recently visited Nimtouri and inaugurated three statues of acclaimed freedom fighters. He urged the organization to uphold the achievements of the Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar in front of today’s generations. He felt that the modern generation needs to know the history of India and the role that Bengal played in carving the nation’s destiny. He also urged the trustee board to open it to the public as well as work for its restoration. However work has hardly been done to keep the president’s wish as the institution now faces a critical financial crisis.
Tags:
Research
Financial
Weddings
Independence
Future Generations
West Bengal
