“In the great land of Jharkhand’s hero number one Birsa Munda, we have installed the statue of Shaheed Bhagat Singh”.

These were the words of the president of Rashtriya Yuva Shakti chief Uttam Yada. The occasion was the installation of Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s big metal statue on April 15, 2023, just 10 meter away from Mahayana Gandhi’s statue in Morahabadi Maidan, Ranchi. 

This 28 feet X 14.5 feet wide and high statue of Shaheed Bhagat Singh generates the spirit of ‘Inquilab’ within the hearts of the viewers. It was designed and developed by Kolkata-based artist Shamir Pal.

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When the viewers have a glance of the statue the slogan ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ comes out spontaneously from their mouths. However, minutes after the installation of his statue, the state administration comprising Ranchi Town Circle Officer Amit Bhagat arrived with a section of police forces.

Bhagat said that the Rashtriya Yuva Shakti office bearers had not taken No Objection Certificate(NOC) from the district administration to install the statue of Shaheed Bhagat Singh on the state government’s “ Kaisere Hind land( govt land). 

The CO asked Rashtriya Yuva Shakti chief Uttam Yadav to file an application seeking NOC at the office of the Ranchi Deputy Commissioner. “ The NOC is necessary”, he said.

In response, Rashtriya Yuva Shakti chief Uttam Yadav informed that his organisation had taken permission from Ranchi Municipal Corporation. “ In a meeting of the RMC, it was allowed. Now, the district administration says RMC has no authority over the government’s land.

“ We are going to submit an application at the office of Ranchi Deputy Commissioner seeking the NOC”, said Yadav.

At the venue, scores of Rashtriya Yuva Shakti workers led by Yadav were standing guard of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh. “ We will die, but not allow the officials to remove his statue”, said Yadav.

Against this background of the dispute over land where Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s statue was installed in Morahabadi, the district administration has two options. 

One, to provide NOC to Rashtriya Yuva Shakti helping it beautify the site. Two, lift this statue and get it installed elsewhere. But Rashtriya Yuva Shakti workers were not ready to accept the change in the site of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh statue installation.

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