Unsung Heroes | History Corner | Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Culture, Government of India

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Paying tribute to India’s freedom fighters

Lachman Dass Sankwa

South Andaman, Andaman & Nicobar Islands

June 27, 2022

Lachman Dass Sankwa, son of Chintamani Sankwa  was born on 28-12-1905 at Port Blair. He was initially appointed as Clerk on 5th May 1927 and further promoted as Tehsildar on 25th December 1939. On the first day of the Japanese occupation in 1942, his house was gutted by fire and he lost all his property.

 In April 1942, he joined the Indian Independence League (IIL) and was elected as Secretary of the IIL. He also became the Secretary of the ‘Sewa Samiti’ a sister branch of the League. He was arrested on 27th October 1943 and interned in the Cellular Jail. During his imprisonment, he received inhuman and barbaric torture. His wife was also arrested and tortured to cast pressure on him, failing which she was released soon. On 30 January 1944, he was killed by the Japanese squad and buried in an ‘L’ shaped mass grave with 43 others at Homfraygunj in South Andaman. A memorial ‘Balidan Vedi’ has been erected in memory of them at the spot where they got martyrdom. 

The name of Lachman Dass Sankwa inscribed on the Homfraygunj Martyrs Memorial ‘Balidan Vedi’

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