Saharanpur: On the eve of 'Martyrdom and Dedication Day'—observed annually across the entire state on May 26th—an event commemorating the occasion was organized today under the aegis of the District Unit of the U.P. Industry and Traders' Association. The event was held within the premises of the association's district headquarters on Railway Road. During the ceremony, trader representatives offered heartfelt tributes and floral homage to their brave colleagues across Uttar Pradesh who sacrificed their lives while struggling for the cause of traders' unity and commercial interests; a moment of silence was also observed in their memory.
Addressing the traders present on this occasion, District President Sheetal Tandon stated that more than two crore traders across the state are paying homage to those brave and devoted merchants who attained martyrdom at the altar of duty—fighting for the trading community without fear of police batons, sticks, or repression. He noted that 13 traders made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the interests of the trading community. These brave colleagues from Uttar Pradesh—who gave up their very lives to safeguard the interests of the state's traders—include Harish Chandra Agarwal (Lucknow); Harishankar Agarwal and Nityanand Kaushik from Bulandshahr; Ashok Kumar Khandelwal and Shiv Singh from Patti Pratapgarh; Munne Miyan from Marhara (Etah); Ashok Rai from Mufti Ganj (Jaunpur); Kamal Jain from Ghaziabad; Ramesh Bindal from Kasganj; Ajay Gupta from Laksar (Haridwar); Amit Gupta from Mainpuri; Rakesh Kumar from Muzaffarnagar; and Gopal Poddar from Sant Kabir Nagar. The sacrifices made by these traders will serve as an inspiration for generations to come. Mr. Tandon stated that the need of the hour is for all traders to dedicate themselves completely to ensuring the success of the *Vyapar Mandal's* (Traders' Association) programs and movements. They must work with unwavering commitment—upholding the protection of traders' interests, unity, discipline, and continuous activism—so that new benchmarks of success may be established in every struggle undertaken for the welfare of the trading community. Mr. Tandon noted that the traders of Saharanpur had long been fighting for their interests under the leadership of State President Pt. Shyam Bihari Mishra; now, under the leadership of Provincial President Mukund Mishra, the traders of the state continue to struggle ceaselessly for their commercial rights. Saharanpur's historic 'Octroi Movement' stands as a prime example of this spirit, wherein traders endured police baton charges and even faced imprisonment; indeed, whenever the interests of the trading community were at stake, the *Vyapar Mandal* sounded the bugle of protest. Furthermore, over the past 50 years, numerous successful movements have been organized within the Saharanpur district to safeguard traders' interests and to protest against harassment—efforts that are destined to continue in the future. Mr. Tandon recalled that on May 26, 1979, Harish Chandra Agarwal was martyred during an ongoing agitation against the Sales Tax Department in Lucknow—a sacrifice that led to the suspension of Sales Tax surveys, a moratorium that remains in effect to this day. During the event, while paying homage to the traders who were martyred during various agitations, the attendees also took a solemn pledge to uphold trader unity and to remain dedicated to the organization. Additionally, on the third death anniversary of Vijay Prakash Jain—the National President of the *Bhartiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal*, who passed away three years ago on May 26—Sheetal Tandon paid tribute to his memory, describing Mr. Jain as a guiding light for the nation's traders, a man defined by his spirit of struggle and tireless diligence. Prominent among the trader representatives present on this occasion were District President Sheetal Tandon, District General Secretary Ramesh Arora, District Treasurer Col. Sanjay Middha, Provincial Organizing Secretary Pawan Kumar Goyal, along with Sanjeev Sachdeva, Ashok Malik, Rajiv Sachdeva, Jogendra Malhotra, Shubham, Anuj Chaudhary, and others.