Sanatan Archive

The year was 1930. The Civil Disobedience Movement was in full throttle—police brutality was equally strong. Fight and perish — this was the spirit of patriotism that was conspicuous in every freedom fighter across India during British rule.

In 2017, India’s national song Vande Mataram was mired in debate once again. Following the Madras High Court’s order to make Vande Mataram compulsory in schools and government and private offices, a loathsome politics was triggered over the national song in Maharashtra.

Guru Tegh Bahadur Martyrdom Day, also known as Shaheedi Diwas is observed annually on 24 November. People across the country pay their homage to the ninth of ten Sikh Gurus, who was fierce supporters of religious freedom, on this day. The day marks the death anniversary of the ninth Sikh Guru.

History is replete with examples of valour, grit and determination exhibited by India’s freedom fighters against the British Raj. While some of them featured prominently in history textbooks, others never received their deserved recognition. Even freedom fighters, who put down their lives for their motherland, also disappeared into oblivion. Such has been the case of Bengal’s first female martyr, Pritilata Waddedar. She made the supreme sacrifice on this day (September 23), 89 years ago.

The fight for Indian Independence has generally been projected as being male dominated, with focus on well known male leaders purportedly fighting for India’s freedom. However, that has not always been the case, and in some recent studies it has been clearly seen that how women once inspired by various revolutionary leaders played active roles on their own, and how many of them were direct participants in the nationalistic revolutionary activities that took place in Bengal, Punjab, and Maharashtra.

“History is always written wrong, and so always needs to be rewritten” – this quote by philosopher George Santayana holds true, especially in the Indian context. For decades, academic history textbooks featured a one-sided and distorted narrative; stories of resistance by the warriors of the soil find no place. It continues to this day.

It is difficult to identify the date or time from when revolutionary movements in India starting taking shape. In one way all historical phases in nations and societies have revolutionary moments. As and when radical changes, considered progressive, take place in a society, those phases are called revolutionary phases.

There was a big controversy regarding the outcome of the Battle of Haldighati as to who was the winner and the consequences thereof. This controversy was triggered by the decision of the Rajasthan Education board to revisit the theory that Akbar won the battle easily. Actually, various facts point contrary to this theory which has been spoon fed by history text books. Before trying to look into the details of the aforesaid great battle, let’s explore some facts which led to this bloody encounter or I should say series of bloody encounters.

U Tirot Sing Day is a regional public holiday in the Indian state of Meghalaya on July 17th each year. This holiday honours Tirot Singh, a 19th-century freedom fighter from Meghalaya who led a revolt against the British.