book extract

Bhagat Singh: ‘I will climb the gallows gladly’

With little hope left of avoiding the gallows in the trial for the murder of a British police officer, Bhagat Singh’s father Sardar Kishan Singh submitted an appeal to the Tribunal, claiming that his son was innocent. The young revolutionary was deeply disturbed by this and wrote a terse letter to his father, admonishing him for making the appeal. After the judgement was given, he wrote to his comrade and fellow convict B.K. Dutt—sentenced to transportation for life—reminding him of the ne[...]

‘Bharatratna’ Savarkar!

Though delayed, justice has finally been done to the man. After years of prevarication, the Bhartiya Janta Party has at last publicly and explicitly owned up Vinayak Damodar Savarkar as its cult figure. The BJP seeks to displace Gandhi from his position as the pre-eminent symbol of Indian nationalism and project, in his stead, Savarkar as a national hero. This is an enterprise, however, that is fraught with risk. The risk of the truth coming out in the open. In his book, Savarkar and Hindutva:[...]