The Socialist Party demands that the mortal remains of Bahadur Shah Zafar should be brought back to India from Rangoon, Myanmar, by the government of India. The party is going to submit a memorandum to this effect to the President of India. It has been decided by the party that its cadres will hold a day-long dharna at Jantar-Mantar in Delhi on coming 11 May to press the demand. On May 11, of 1857, the soldiers of the British India Army reached Delhi from Meerut and proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar the emperor of India and the leader of their struggle for independence against the colonial British rule. At the national convention of the Socialist Party, scheduled on 17-18 May 2013 in Trivendrum, an all India movement will be launched in favour of the demand.

The Socialist Party takes inspiration from the thoughts of Dr. Rammanohar Lohia. Dr. Lohia had suggested that in case a leader passes away in a foreign country, her/his last rites should be performed there itself. The Socialist Party accepts this view of Dr. Lohia in order to strengthen the bonds of world brotherhood. But the case of Zafar was all together different. He was caught by the imperialist rulers and brought to Rangoon tied in chains. He passed away there on 7 November 1862 longing for two yards of mother land for his burial. Zafar, a poet of his own style, expressed his pains of exile in his famous couplet : ‘do gaz zamin bhi na mili kooye yaar mein’.
The demand to bring back the remains of Bahadur Shah Zafar to India is not merely an emotional issue for the Socialist Party. Zafar was the leader of our First War of Independence against the colonial powers and a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity. Therefore, this should be the duty of the Indian government to bring back his remains. The people of India should collectively support this demand while enjoying the fruits of freedom. The Socialist Party expresses gratitude to the senior journalist Saeed Naqvi, who has been raising this issue from various forums.

Hastakshep