First Read of 2022: Shahid Sukh Dev by Malwinder Jit Singh Waraich (2016)

Of the three young men who were hanged by the British Colonial Government on 23rd March 1931, a lot is known about Bhagat Singh (1907-1931) with many books written and films produced on him. The same however cannot be said of his two comrades, Rajguru (1908-1931) and Sukhdev (1907-1931) who died alongside him. https://mobile.twitter.com/sauravk1890/status/1128521900383096832 Professor …

Last Read of 2021: In Andamans: The Indian Bastille by Bejoy Kumar Sinha (1939)

2021 is not ending on a good note and my last read of the year too was pretty grim in places. The Andamans are a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal off the eastern coast of India. Separated from mainland India, they are still home to the indigenous people who have been here …

Review: aapbeeti: Kale Pani ki Karawas Kahani

aapbeeti: Kale Pani ki Karawas Kahani by Bhai ParmanandMy rating: 3 of 5 stars The writer was a Professor of Modern European History at National College, Lahore and thus was a teacher of Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev. This was his memoir of his days in captivity at the Andamans. The book was proscribed by the …

Review: Gandhi Benaqaab

Gandhi Benaqaab by Hansraj RahbarMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a brave book since many authors would shy away from exposing the 'Mahatma'. However in doing so Rahbar exposes his own prejudices. Nevertheless, it is a well-researched critique of Gandhi and his politics. First Line: Desh ki shashya shyamla bhumi par Shiv ka …

A Revolutionary’s Life: Bandi Jeewan

Bandi Jeewan by Sachindra Nath SanyalMy rating: 4 of 5 stars The book which according to a British secret report sent "more young men to the jails and gallows than any other book" is a first-hand account of the revolutionary movement in India during the second and third decades of the twentieth century. Sachindranath Sanyal, …

Salutations

23 March 1931

First Read of 2017: Biography of Bhagat Singh by M.M. Juneja

My last read of 2016 was the Complete Tribunal Proceedings of the Lahore Conspiracy Case that had revolutionary Sukhdev's remarks in the margins. I am glad that the first book that I read in 2017 is about Sukhdev's closest friend: Bhagat Singh.M.M. Juneja's biography of India's most famous martyr doesn't add much to all that …

An A in the last quarter too

I scored an A in the last quarter of the Reading Assignment Challenge 2016 hosted by Michelle and Berls.Here are the 3 books that I read for the months of Oct, Nov, and Dec, respectively:The Boat by L.P. Hartley Satyanveshi Vyomkesh by Sharadindu BandyopadhayaComplete Tribunal Proceedings (With Sukhdev's Remarks)

Last (and Best) Read of 2016: Complete Tribunal Proceedings (With Sukhdev’s Remarks)

On 7th September, 1930, the tribunal in the Lahore Conspiracy Case (King-Emperor vs Sukhdev and Others) pronounced varying sentences to the young men who were accused of 'waging war against the King-Emperor'. Of the fifteen men at the end of the trial, the majority got transportation for life, three were acquitted while two got RI …

Challenge Wrap-Up: Back to Classics 2016

I have completed 10 categories out of a total of 12 (which means I get two entries), in the Back to Classics 2016 challenge hosted by Karen K @ Books and Chocolate.Here are the classics read:1.  A 19th Century Classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899.THE GREAT TONTINE by HAWLEY SMART (1881)2.  A …