Tag: Indian Independence Movement

The Hyderabad Saga: Part One

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August 1947 – India attains Independence, but at a cost. Three princely states are still posing fight, maintaining their sovereignity, refusing accession. One of these is situated in the heart of the Indian Union – Hyderabad.

There are several characters at play in this saga. The Nizam of Hyderabad, the head of an amataeur militant faction – Kasim Razvi, and the Indian Government led by Nehru and Sardar Patel. Who will prevail? How does Hyderabad ultimately accede to India and at what cost?

This is a tale of high-octane drama, theatrics, brutal politics and raging violence. The Hyderabad Saga narrates the on-ground realities and behind-the-scene politics that ultimately shaped India as the Independent Union it is today. Split in two parts, the first article traces the build-up to the violence that exploded in the months of August and Septembet 1948.

Click to know more! … Continue readingThe Hyderabad Saga: Part One

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur – A Princess Like No Other

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Rajkumari Amrit Kaur – ‘A Princess like no other’.

Born in a royal family, Amrit Kaur changed the course of her life when she chose to involve herself in the fight against the British. An exceptional woman, with a list of achievements beside her name, Amrit Kaur became India’s First Female Cabinet Minister, holding the portfolio of the Ministry of Health.

But that is not it. Kaur’s life was an exceptional one, and very unlike a princess’s .

Click on the title above to know more about this ‘One of a kind Woman’ … Continue readingRajkumari Amrit Kaur – A Princess Like No Other

“Kaala Pani” – A Prisoner’s Worst Nightmare

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“Kaala Pani”, the name itself sends chills down your spine, doesn’t it?
Even this spine-chilling name doesn’t do justice to the torture and harsh conditions that the prisoners here were exposed to.
Opened in 1906, the Cellular Jail (or “Kaala Pani”), is located far away from the Indian mainland on the tiny island of Andaman and Nicobar. The Jail was established to provide such extreme kind of torture to those Indians who had either murdered someone or committed a crime equally gruesome.
But even these horrifying crimes did no justice to what the prisoners here were put through. Torture, flogging, extreme exhaustion and complete destituteness of hope were a part of daily life in Kaala Pani.

Since the jail was far away from the centre of the Indian Revolution, everything that the inmates here suffered through, went unknown and unheard of.
Among the other freedom fighters who were imprisoned here, were a few well-known ones like – Vinayak Savarkar, who has a cell here named after him, his brother Babarao Savarkar and Sushil Dasgupta.
Click on the title above to read more about the horrors of Kaala Pani … Continue reading“Kaala Pani” – A Prisoner’s Worst Nightmare

BRITAIN’S WORST FAILURE – The Bengal Famine of 1943

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During the course of the 150 years that the British ruled over the Indian subcontinent, they were accused of committing several atrocities against Indians – racial discrimination, lathi charges, and the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 1919.
However, we tend to forget one of the worst of the lot – The Bengal Famine of 1943 which consumed the lives of around 3 million people. What is unique about this famine, is that unlike the 6 other major famines that had struck India during the reign of the British, the one in 1943, was a result of policy failure on part of Winston Churchill’s War Time Cabinet, and not natural factors.
Click on the picture above to read more about the shocking conditions that prevailed in Bengal in 1943 … Continue readingBRITAIN’S WORST FAILURE – The Bengal Famine of 1943

SPECIAL ISSUE: KASHMIR – The Scarred Beauty

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Kashmir – probably the most
beautiful yet the most disturbed region in the Indian subcontinent.

Why? Well, the answer to that question has a lot of variations.

Even before the Partition of India in 1947, the state of Jammu and Kashmir continued to remain a centre of conflict.

This article will explore Kashmir’s history right from 304 BCE, when Ashoka came to power, till the 1949 UN resolution. 

Click on the title above to delve into the rich, yet lesser-known history of Kashmir … Continue readingSPECIAL ISSUE: KASHMIR – The Scarred Beauty

Durga Devi Vohra – The Forgotten Revolutionary

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Date: 19th December 1928;
Location: Lahore Railway Station, British India.
A man is seen boarding a train with his wife and son, along with their servant trudging along behind. Nothing seems out of the picture, does it? Not if you knew the back story. This ‘couple’ was actually the freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Durgawati Devi and her son, along with Rajguru. Never heard the name Durgawati Devi before, have you?
She too, just like Bhagat Singh, was a freedom fighter. Click on the title above to know more about this remarkable woman, and her difficult journey as a child, mother, wife and above all, a revolutionary. … Continue readingDurga Devi Vohra – The Forgotten Revolutionary

‘Man of peace’ – Lal Bahadur Shastri

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When someone asks you what’s so special about the 2nd of October, what would your answer be? Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday. But most of tend to forget about another extremely significant figure who was born on this very day – Lal Bahadur Shastri. Independent India’s Second Prime Minister, was born on this day in 1904 in Mughalsarai, Uttar Pradesh. Unfortunately, in less than 2 years, he passed away due to a supposed ‘heart attack’, a theory which his wife and family refused to believe in, giving rise to a lot of suspicion and subsequently – several controversial theories. Even today, his death remains clouded in mystery. But, what is even sadder, is that while everybody celebrates Gandhi Ji on the 2nd of October, very few remember this exceptional man.
Click on the title above to read more about the ‘Man of Peace’ – Lal Bahadur Shastri and to access a rare unseen footage from his funeral … Continue reading‘Man of peace’ – Lal Bahadur Shastri

Bhagat Singh – The Young Revolutionary

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On 28th September, 1907, in a small village in Punjab, British India, Bhagat Singh was born to a family of revolutionaries, who inculcated in him, from the very start, the spirit to fight and revolt.

As fate would have it, Bhagat Singh went on to become one of the youngest martyrs of the Indian Independence Movement, who was hung alongside his comrades – Sukhdev and Rajguru, on this day – 23rd March, 1931.

On account of ‘Shaheed Diwas’ which marks the 90th death anniversary of these young martyrs, I present to you – ‘Bhagat Singh – The Young Revolutionary’.

Click on the title above to read more about the lives of these great men and their accomplices … Continue readingBhagat Singh – The Young Revolutionary