Global InformationAmko Simko massacre information
| Amko Simko massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | Amko Simko Field, Simko Village, Sundargarh, Odisha |
| Date | 25 April 1939 |
| Target | Crowd of Tribal peasants protesting unfair taxes |
Attack type | Massacre |
| Deaths | 49 |
| Injured | 86 |
| Perpetrator | Rani Janaki Ratna, Lt. E. W. Marger |
| Assailants | British Indian Army |
| Motive | To arrest tribal leader Nirmal Munda |
The Amko Simko massacre or Amco Simco firing took place on 25 April 1939, when Lt. E. W. Marger ordered troops of the British Indian Army to open fire on a crowd of tribal peasants resisting the arrest of their leader Nirmal Munda in Simko village, Gangpur estate (now Birmitrapur, Sundergarh, Odisha).[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
On Tuesday, 25 April 1939, a crowd of tribal peasants had gathered under the leadership of Nirmal Munda (a freedom fighter) at Amko-Simko field. The crowd was protesting high taxes and denied land rights. Rani Janaki arrived at Simko village with a political agent, Lieutenant E. W. Marger, with the sole intent to arrest Nirmal Munda on the grounds of holding seditious meetings and assaulting a village chowkidar. The crowd was warned to hand over their leader, Nirmal Munda, and disperse. However, the crowd of tribals armed with lathis, axes, and other crude weapons resisted the arrest of their leader. Consequently, scuffles broke out and the police resorted to firing their weapons.[2][9][6][7]
After they fired their weapons into the crowd, Nirmal Munda and his associates were arrested and jailed. This marked the end of the Munda agitation in Gangpur against the exorbitant taxes.
- ^ Das, Sarita (2007). "Chapter IV - Freedom Movement in Sundargarh" (PDF). Emergence of political leadership in Sundargarh (Thesis). Sambalpur University.
- ^ a b Mishra, Umakanta; Behari, Shibanarayan; Behera, Anam; Kumar Panda, Dr. Soroja; Mohanty, Bhagyashree; Pradhan, GC; Bhattacharya, Dr. Deepak; Mishra, Dr. Dadhibaman; R. Behera, Puspita; Singh, Brijesh Kumar; Rath, Rabi Sankar; Limma, Dr. Samuel; Jena, Chitta Ranjan (2019). "Tribal Freedom Fighters of Odisha" (PDF). The Odisha Historical Research Journal. LVIII. Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneswar: Dr. Jayanti Rath, Superintendent of Museum: 127.
- ^ Dr Taradatt. Odisha District Gazetteers Sundargarh (PDF) (Report). Gopabandhu Academy of Administration (Gazetteers Unit) General Administration Department Government of Odisha.
- ^ Das, Kailash Chandra (2018). "Simko Genocide A Testimony of Tribal Protest". ETribalTribune. The Tribal Tribune.
- ^ Mohanty, Subrat (27 April 2011). "When they braved bullets - Local residents pay homage to martyrs who lost their lives in the Amco-Simco massacre". Sambalpur.
"The Jalianwalabagh bloodbath has received wide recognition in the history but the Amco-Simco massacre has not got a proper place even in history books," said Kujur. Ashok Pradhan, an intellectual and Sambalpur resident, said: "Hundreds of people had died in this incident. It is unfortunate that sacrifice of these people is gradually being forgotten."
- ^ a b Surjit Minj, Student (Interviewer) & Fabianus Ekka, Amko villager(Interviewee) (4 October 2021). Amko-Simko (Videotape) (in Sadri). Fr Albert Xess.
{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ a b Jagran (25 April 2020). "सादगी के साथ याद किए गए आमको सिमको शहीद" [Aamko Simco martyrs remembered with simplicity] (in Hindi). Biramitrapur: Jagran.
- ^ Kullu, Ajit Kumar (20 August 2020). "Amko Simko A Khadia song on the Amko-Simko Massacre of Adivasis" (in English and Kharia).
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ Mishra, Kishore Chandra (2008). "Prajamandal Movements in the Feudatory States of Western Orissa". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 69. Indian History Congress: 548. JSTOR 44147218.