The Centre has decided to issue a postage stamp in memory of Gorkha freedom fighter Major Durga Malla of the Indian National Army (INA) who was sent to the gallows by the British in 1944.
Shyam Rana, the general secretary of the Uttarakhand Rajya Nepali Bhasha Samiti, told The Telegraph over the phone from Delhi: “Our samiti has received a letter from the Centre apprising us that the government has decided to issue a postage stamp in memory of Major Durga Malla.”
Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union minister of communications and electronics and IT, has conveyed the Centre’s decision to Ganesh Joshi, the Uttarakhand agriculture minister.
Malla was born in 1913 near Dehradun and after enrolling in the 2/1 Gorkha Rifles decided to join Subhas Chandra Bose’s INA in 1942.
In March 1944, Malla, who had been posted in the intelligence branch of the INA, was arrested by the British from Ukhrul in Manipur and hanged to death on August 25, 1944.
Malla is held in high esteem by the Indian Gorkha community.
His statue was unveiled in the Parliament complex by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2004.
August 25, the day Major Mall was sent to the gallows, is marked as Balidan Diwas by Gorkhas across India.
Rana said the demand for a stamp after the freedom fighter had been raised by the community for long.
“Babbar Gurung, the founder president of the Akhil Bharatiya Nepali Bhasha Samiti, along with his general secretary Shivlal Allay and the entire community relentlessly pursued the issue,” said Rana.
Bal Krishna Baral, former president of the Uttarakhand Rajya Nepali Bhasha Samiti, said the postal department had also issued a first day postal cover of Major Malla in 2019.
“Even after the first day postal cover was released, we continued with our demand. We will soon hold a meeting to inform the government on the venue and the date in which we would like the postage stamp to be released,” said Baral.
The Centre has asked the Dehradun organisation to ensure that the date of release is intimidated at least two months in advance.
