'Balidan Diwas' and 'Teez Mahotsav' Celebrated by Gorkha Community in Assam's Kaliabor

Kaliabor, August 26, 2019:

Commemorating the great sacrifice of the first Gorkha marytr of the Indian freedom movement, Major Durga Malla, as well as all the gorkha martyrs who lost their lives for the nation, the Balidan Divas and Teez Mahotsav was celebrated at the Bhanu Bhawan in Assam's Kaliabor district.

The event was organized by the Kaliabor Bhanu Samitee, which is a 1972-established socio-cultural organization of the people of gorkha community of Kaliabor sub-division.

Major Durga Malla was the first Gorkha soldier from the Indian Gorkha Khas ethnic group in Indian National Army (INA) to sacrifice his life for the cause of Indian independence movement.

He was a prominent figure of Indian independence movement activism and reorganizing and a Major in the Indian National Army.

Malla was born in July 1913 at Doiwala near Dehradun, into a Khas Thakuri/Chhetri family of Indian Gorkhas and was the eldest son of Nb Sub Ganga Malla.

In 1930, when Mahatma Gandhi was leading the countrymen for independence through Dandi March, Malla was a student studying in class nine.

Although he was young, he caught everybody’s attention by his outbursts in public against the British.

In 1931, when he was 18 years old, he moved to Dharamsala and got enrolled in 2/1 Gorkha Rifles. His patriotism brought him close to the Indian National Army of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

In 1942, Malla joined INA. His devotion to duty coupled with other skills elevated him to the rank of a Major in INA and he was asked to work in the intelligence wing of the INA.

When he was collecting information about the enemy camps, he was caught in action at Kohima on 27 March 1944.

He was given death sentence by the Court of Trial at Red Fort, New Delhi. However, before the death sentence was finally executed, the authorities tried to coerce Major Durga Malla into admitting to sedition. His wife was brought to the prison cell but Malla did not succumb to the pressure.

“The sacrifice I am offering shall not go in vain. India will be free. I am confident. This is only a matter of time, Sharda! Don’t worry, crores of Hindustanis are with you,” Malla told his wife. Those were his last words to her.

For the uninitiated, Teez is a festival of the Gorkha women which is held in sukla tritiya tithi of the Assamese Bhado Mah. According to tradition, all the married girls are invited by their parents to their homes. During the festival, all the old friends of the villages gather and sing and dance together. they also go on a fast without even consuming water and pray for the long lives of their husbands.

Eminent writer and advisor of Assam-Nepali Sahitya Sabha, Dambar Dahal, was the Chief Guest. Tara Devi, a lecturer Bihali Junior college, was the Guest of Honour.

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