The untold story of Saxena documented by the Rajasthan State Archives Bikaner (RSAB) revealed the valour and courage displayed by a graduate from Allahabad University. Not enough material was available on the movements led by Saxena in Kota until RSAB did an extensive research on the 220 freedom fighters including him.
A poster from Bikaner archives giving information on Saxena
Saxena plunged into the freedom struggle in 1937 after the Kota state introduced a law making it compulsory for people to take permission of police before holding assemblies. Even if somebody was coming from outside for taking part in the freedom struggle, he had to take the permission from the local administration.
“The fresh graduate found the law yet another step to suppress the freedom struggle. He started holding public meetings in Kota, Sangod and Bara defying it. He along with other renowned leaders – Chappan Lal Chaturvedi, Mathuralal Meena and Ramgopal — were sent to the prison for a year,” said RSAb director Mahendra Khadgawat. The initial success in Kota had made the freedom fighters upbeat. They went to Delhi for a larger role and met Mahatma Gandhi. “The briefed Gandhiji about the freedom movement in Kota and other 21 Rajputana states. Gandhiji supported their movement of raising their voice against the Kota state. This gave them much-needed support space in the regional freedom movement,” said Khadgawat.
Narrating the unprecedented incident, he said by the beginning of Quit India movement, they all became popular in Kota region. During the movement, they came to Kota to mobilise people and were arrested. “The move sparked a major outrage among citizens, which led to massive protests in the city. The city was surrounded by gates and protestors locked the gates from inside. For next three days, protestors didn’t budge to the pressure and remained ready to take on police. On the third day, the imperial army marched in the city and fired indiscriminately. After some hours, they were successful in opening the gates,” said Khadgawat.
