Monday 2 October 2017

The forgotten revolutionary writers of India

While it is a known fact that our revolutionaries were men of exemplary courage, they were equally skilled at using a pen. And I am sure when you read this line, Gandhi ji and Nehru's writings are flashing in front of your eyes. And that's the exact reason why I want to write about the forgotten revolutionary writers of India..

There are 2 letters in Indian history which had deep impact on my mind as a kid.
One of the letters was definitely more famous-
The letter Gandhiji wrote to his father accepting his flaws and deciding to become a better person. That was really something I admired because speaking out truth definitely needed courage.

But equally courageous if not more was a letter Bhagat Singh wrote to his father stating, "Meri dulhan to Azaadi hai!'' I was blown apart reading that letter. It gave me goosebumps. It made me cry.
Equally powerful was Bhagat Singh's essay where he tried explaining why he turned atheist and took up armed violence. Also, while in prison Sukhdev once contemplated suicide and Bhagat Singh wrote him a powerful letter to dissuade him from taking such a step.
And unfortunately all these writings of Bhagat Singh were never a part of our school curriculum and hence for many people Gandhiji's letters and Nehru's letters to Indira are the only ones which come to mind when I talk about their favourite writings from the freedom movement.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar wrote many emotional poems(most of them in Marathi) while he was in Andaman jail but many have no idea about it..

Then there are writings of Ram Prasad Bismil, the stellar works of Ashfaqullah Khan and many more revolutionaries which have been forgotten by time and history..

Many people asked me today why I oppose Gandhi ji. My answer is- I don't hate him, I respect him for a person that he was but somehow in the shadow of Gandhi we have forgotten countless other revolutionaries who contributed much more than Gandhi ever could for the freedom of the country..
While we build memorials for Gandhi ji and continue to bear the burden of another Gandhi family, let us not forget the contributions of those whose birthdays are not celebrated as National holidays..

On Gandhi Jayanti, let us not forget that Gandhi wasn't the only one. No, the Azaadi didn't come, "Bina khadag, Bina Dhaal!"

JAY HIND.

~ Devashish Palkar

P.S. I have included only those revolutionaries whose writings I have had the pleasure of reading and I am sure there are many which are not a part of the list. If you know any apart from these, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.. Thank you. 

Featured post

A DARK winter day..

It was just another usual day. We woke up at 5.30 to the calls of  ''Allah U Akbar!'' from the neighbouring mosque. My hus...