The episode, titled “The Fire of Knowledge,” focuses on the destruction of the makeshift school and Jagriti’s vow of vengeance against the feudal system.
The Midnight Arson
The episode begins in the dead of night. While the Chitta community is asleep, Thakur’s younger brother, Pratap, arrives with a group of masked men. They douse the newly built community library and schoolroom in kerosene. Jagriti wakes up to the smell of smoke and screams for help. Despite the villagers’ best efforts to form a water chain from the village well, the thatched roof collapses, destroying the books and the legal documents Jagriti had been collecting to prove their land rights.
A Mother’s Sacrifice
During the fire, Jagriti’s mother, Geeta, realizes that the “Ledger of Rights” (the book stolen from Thakur’s office) is still inside a metal trunk in the burning building. She rushes into the flames against Jagriti’s pleas. Geeta manages to throw the trunk out of the window just before a beam falls, trapping her inside. Jagriti and Suryakant manage to pull her out, but Geeta suffers severe burns to her hands. This moment marks a turning point where the community’s fear turns into collective rage.
The Police Betrayal
The next morning, the local Inspector arrives, but instead of arresting Pratap (whom several villagers saw), he threatens to arrest Jagriti for “endangering the village” by storing flammable materials in a residential area. He mocks their loss, saying that “people of their status” have no business with books. However, Jagriti records his entire speech on a hidden phone she had secured from the city lawyer, proving the police-criminal nexus.
The Climax: The Ashes of Defiance
The episode ends with a powerful visual. Jagriti stands amidst the charred remains of the school. She takes a handful of the black ash and smears it on her forehead like a tilak. She addresses the mourning villagers, declaring that they won’t rebuild with straw and wood anymore—they will build with “bricks and blood.” She announces a “Hunger Strike unto Death” right in front of the District Collector’s office, starting the very next day.
Major Highlights
- The School in Flames: Thakur’s men burn down the community’s only source of education.
- Geeta’s Bravery: Jagriti’s mother risks her life to save the legal documents that prove the community’s land ownership.
- The Law’s True Face: The local police openly side with the oppressors, forcing Jagriti to take a more radical path.
- The New Vow: Jagriti shifts from being a teacher to a political rebel, initiating a hunger strike that gains state-wide attention.
Precap for Tomorrow:
As Jagriti begins her hunger strike at the Collectorate, students from the city universities arrive to support her, bringing national media attention. Fearing a riot, Thakur orders Pratap to “silence” Jagriti permanently during the night of the protest. Meanwhile, the lawyer discovers that the “Ledger” Geeta saved contains a map to a hidden gemstone mine on the Chitta land—the real reason Thakur wants them gone.
