'The Last Heroes': P Sainath’s book chronicles the real heroes of freedom struggle

KL Tuteja

P SAINATH is a reputed journalist, erudite scholar and Ramon Magsaysay awardee. He is also the founder-editor of People’s Archives of Rural India (PARI). His fascinating book broadly deals with the history of India’s freedom struggle written from the perspective of common people. Sainath provides a graphic account of the participation of 15 ordinary persons, men and women, belonging to rural and tribal society. He describes them as ‘Foot Soldiers of Indian Freedom’ and highlights their spirit of resistance and heroic activities against the British rule and the feudal elements working as its collaborators.

The book is primarily based on the oral testimonies of these participants who were interviewed by the author (in some cases more than once) over the last two decades or so. It was indeed a very arduous task since these persons from different parts of the country were in their late eighties or nineties (some 100-plus too). The author, however, took up the challenging job believing that it would be ‘worth listening to the history of that great struggle as understood by those (ordinary people) who helped make it’. In terms of historiography, this highly informative study may be described as a work of ‘history from below’, but differs in approach from the subaltern writings that lay emphasis on the ‘autonomy’ of people movements.

Sainath writes that the freedom fighters’ opposition ‘to Empire was uncompromising’. The testimonies provide some illuminating information about the nature and methods of their struggle. Besides, these are helpful in understanding the trajectories of the freedom movement in a very distinct manner. Baji Mohammad from a poor farmer family in Odisha joined the Congress and became a true follower of Gandhi. As a Satyagrahi, he was imprisoned a number of times and was subjected to torture, but as a committed believer of non-violence, he never retaliated or participated in any kind of violence. The case of Shobharam Gehervar, a Dalit from Ajmer, looks somewhat puzzling. He started as a revolutionary at a very young age and got involved in bomb-making but, for him, Gandhi remained a major inspirational force. He explained his position saying: ‘I was with both. Gandhivad and Krantivad (Gandhian path and revolutionary movement). Both were closely linked.’

In the other two cases, the focus is on the participation in Quit India movement. Chamaru Parida from the small village of Panimora in Odisha stated that Gandhi’s call to people to take part in Satyagraha ‘electrified us’. Interestingly, the people in the village had never seen Gandhi, but one member of each family from here went to participate in the movement. They ‘also pledged to non-violence which the freedom fighters of Panimora would live by for the rest of their lives’. Chamaru and his comrades took over a local court and told people gathered there that they were living in free India and ‘should re-do their petitions and address them to Mahatma Gandhi’. The government arrested 32 persons and called it a rogue village (Badmash Gaon).

Another major incidence of resistance against the British was witnessed in Satara in 1943. Nana Patil, who was initially associated with the Congress but became a revolutionary after getting ‘disillusioned with the Quit India movement’, established a provisional government or Prati Sarkar in Satara and practically controlled 600 villages for six months or so. The armed wing of Prati Sarkar carried out a number of revolutionary activities and looting of trains carrying British goods or treasury.

What is evident from the stories given in the book is that the participation of people in different parts of the country was largely determined by their specific existential conditions, cultural practices and ideological leanings at different stages and phases of the freedom movement.

The book includes interviews of some women participants who are not much known in history. At the age of 16, Demai Dei Sabar, a tribal woman, led a group of 40 women carrying ‘lathis’ and successfully repulsed an attack by a platoon of armed police, which was sent to suppress anti-British activities in the region. Since she did not go to jail, nor was she a part of underground revolutionaries, the government did not give her the status of a freedom fighter. However, she is still fondly remembered in the village for her brave act. The case of another woman, Laxmi Panda, is very painful as she lived in extreme poverty in free India. She joined the INA and was engaged in kitchen work in camps and moved with the soldiers to different places. She was trained in the use of rifle. However, in this case, too, the Indian government declined to accord her the status of a freedom fighter on flimsy grounds and she was therefore deprived of pension. Sainath writes that for Laxmi Panda, ‘it was the recognition that mattered. And her dignity’.

The ‘foot soldiers’ were undoubtedly believers of social harmony and communal peace. In this regard, the story of a revolutionary, Bhagat Singh Jhuggian of Hoshiarpur (different from the legendary Bhagat Singh), is very informative. In his testimony, he shared the sad experience of communal violence witnessed in his village at the time of Partition. He says that while some Muslims (which included a family of 18) were mercilessly butchered, there were a large number of non-Muslims who went all out risking their life to give protection to Muslims and restore peace and harmony. Here, we again bring in Baji Mohammad, who consistently worked for resolving Hindu-Muslim disputes at local levels in Independent India. But, he was deeply disturbed by the growing distrust between the two communities. In his interview with the author, he shared his anguish: ‘My only regret is that his (Gandhi’s) vision about what we should be as a nation is still not realised.’

The use of archival records and other contemporary sources could have further enhanced the relevance of this work, which otherwise is a valuable resource for understanding the role of ordinary people in the epic struggle of India’s freedom.