Posthumous recognition to Badoni as Uttarakhand agitationist

Twelve years after Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh, 45 statehood activists, including one of the protagonists of the movement late Indramani Badoni, have been recognised officially as 'Uttarakhand statehood agitationists'. Besides Badoni, late Baba Mohan Uttarakhandi, who also played a crucial role in the bifurcation of Uttar Pradesh for the creation of a separate Uttarakhand is among 45 persons declared by Pauri district administration as Uttarakhand agitationists, official sources said here today. Also called the 'Gandhi of Uttarakhand', Badoni's contribution to the creation of the hill state was vital as it was due to his sustained and vigorous leadership that a separate Uttarakhand state could eventually become a reality. He is remembered for launching an indefinite fast unto death at Pauri on August 2, 1994 and his subsequent arrest to mount pressure at the Centre for the creation of Uttarakhand. His arrest enraged his followers and the movement gained momentum resulting in the creation of Uttarakhand on November 9, 2000. However, Badoni could not live to see his efforts fructify as he died on August 18, 1999. Other movement activists officially declared as Uttarakhand agitationists are state agriculture minister Harak Singh Rawat, former minister Diwakar Bhatt and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal leader Kashi Singh Airi. A committee headed by Pauri's District Magistrate Chandresh Kumar Yadav gave the recognition to these statehood activists after scrutinising 201 applications at a meeting held at the collectorate in Pauri yesterday, the sources said. 35 more applications seeking this recognition will come up for consideration at the panel's next meeting, they said.