Book Review: Revolutionaries -- Fight to Freedom


 

Remembering the Revolutionaries


The Indian freedom struggle against the British empire, underlined the rights of its people to speak up, to protest and to be heard. This was achieved in multiple ways -- by participating in legislative policies, taking out non-violent movements and launching armed resistance. 

Sanjeev Sanyal in his book, Revolutionaries -- Fight for Freedom -- highlights the armed resistance undertaken by young men and women. Back when there was no social media to create a buzz about political or social cause, the revolutionaries met in akhadas, formed secret groups, went abroad under the guise of studying -- to acquire arms, learn technique of making bombs and spreading awareness about why India needs to be freed by writing books and in newspapers. 

Sanyal, in this abridged version for young readers, argues that events like Alipore bombing, Kakori conspiracy, Chittagong conspiracy, were not isolated acts of heroism, but were all  a part of the greater network of the Ghadar movement. This movement lasted for about half a century and had prominent names like Aurobindo Ghosh, Barin Ghosh, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Madam Bhikaji Cama, Durga Devi, Sachindranath Sanyal, Bhagat Singh, Ashfaqulla Khan, Chandrashekar Azad, Rashbehari Bose and Netaji Subhashchandra Bose, associated with it.

Sanyal peppers the book with stories of camaraderie of the revolutionaries, their spiritual and intellectual roots and their tragic end. The book succeeds in bringing alive these men and women from the pages of history.

 

Excerpt

Since ancient times, India had a tradition of local gymnasiums, known as akhadas, which functioned as a system of imparting both military and spiritual training. As a more aggressive nationalism began to take root, some Indians began to wonder if akhadas could be used to build a network of secret societies that would work towards armed insurrection against the British.

Name: Revolutionaries -- Fight to Freedom

Author: Sanjeev Sanyal

Pages: 215

Publisher: HarperCollin's Children's Book

Price: Rs 299

(This article was first written for Amritabharati) 

 


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