Plea in HC for compilation of data on freedom fighters

A petition was today moved in the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the Centre to form a committee to compile a comprehensive list of freedom fighters and martyrs who had participated in freedom struggle between 1857 to 1947.
The plea said that freedom fighters and martyrs should be identified and their roles in the nine decade long struggle should be compiled to enable their family members get due share, so that they can live with dignity in the society.
The petition was listed before a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal which fixed it for hearing on September 23.

The plea, filed by the president of Al-Hind Party, said there was no list of "bonafide" freedom fighters and their family members were living in "pitiable conditions" and not getting the due share.
"The genuine freedom fighters are not getting recognition for their untiring efforts to attain freedom," it said, adding "only when the list would be compiled, the genuine freedom fighters and their families would get pensions and benefits."
Terming as "shocking" that the government has failed to maintain the record pertaining to freedom fighters, the plea said "there is no comprehensive list of freedom fighters who sacrificed enormously during the freedom struggle."

"Any existing list of martyrs and freedom fighters is not a comprehensive list which can be stated to have information regarding maximum number, if not all, of the freedom fighters and martyrs," it claimed.
It alleged the central information commission had in June 2009 asked the authority concerned to consolidate and publish a comprehensive list, but nothing has been done.