After leaders of the Indian freedom movement adopted the Swaraj Flag featuring the charkha in 1931, the colonial government banned it’s carrying and hoisting. In an act of defiance, freedom fighters across the country hoisted the flag. In Karnataka, N.V. Krishnamachari was a prominent figure in the flag resistance. Despite a brutal lathi charge by British forces on protesters during the satyagraha, Krishnamachari continued to carry the flag defiantly.
N V Krishnamachari
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
A photo of the bloodstained flag, which is today housed at Vidhana Soudha, will be showcased at “Bengaluru ‘47: Forgotten Stories of Freedom", an exhibition that will be held at RBANM’s High School from August 14 to 23. The exhibition, organised by the INTACH Bengaluru Chapter, together with RBANM’s Educational Charities, #ReclaimConstitution, and 1Shanthiroad, will showcase artefacts related to the Indian freedom movement and highlight lesser-known stories of Bengaluru’s role in the freedom struggle.Bengaluru’s role in freedom struggle“Ordinary Bengalureans participated in the freedom movement in several ways — from massive protests by students, workers, and others; to buying khadi and burning foreign-made cloth; to calling for the entry of all castes into temples; to printing and distributing pamphlets. Through interviews, archival newspaper clippings, maps, pamphlets, and other materials, this exhibition provides a glimpse of the atmosphere on the streets of Bengaluru, and an insight into the lives of people who experienced those tumultuous times,” the organisers said.The exhibition will feature several artefacts, including a facsimile of S.K. Kareem Khan’s autobiographical note, in which he recounts the freedom struggle in Karnataka and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. It will also display a Tamra Patra (copper plate), charkhas belonging to N.V. Krishnamachari, and a photograph of his bloodstained flag.
