Unsung heroes come alive in discussion on book about freedom fighters

Sharing the stage with Sainath at Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute was PIC member, writer and film critic Dr Latika Padgaonkar who initiated the conversation on characters featured in the book.

P Sainath and Dr Latika Padgaonkar. (Express Photo by Pavan Khengre)

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Written by Shubham Tigga

From the force behind the Toofan Sena in Maharashtra to a revolutionary woman from Telangana and a fearless Adivasi from Odisha, journalist and author P Sainath focused on three “unsung heroes” during a discussion on his book ‘The Last Heroes – Foot Soldiers of Indian Freedom’ organised by Pune International Centre (PIC) on Saturday.

“We fought for two things – for freedom and independence. We attained independence,” Sainath quoted one of the characters, ‘Captain Bhau’ Ramchandra Sripati Lad, as saying while reading from his book. Lad led the Toofan Sena, an armed group from Sangli that attacked a train carrying the salaries of Britishers in 1943, and distributed the money among the poor and needy, the author said.

Sainath also recalled the remarkable tale of Mallu Swarajyam, a revolutionary from Telangana. He said that at the age of 13, she fought for justice against the Nizam’s “oppressive Razakars (Paramilitary)” with the slingshot as a weapon of choice. “The slingshot was my weapon, the laptop and cell phone are yours,” Sainath quoted her as saying.

Moving on to his next character, he highlighted the poor condition of an Adivasi woman, Demati Dei Sabar. Demati, who is in her 90s, belongs to the Sabar tribe hailing from the Saliha village of Odisha. At the age of 16, she attacked a British policeman with a lathi for looting the village, imposing a wood tax, and shooting a bullet in her father’s leg, according to the author.

At the end of the session, Sainath said that the Government’s Amrit Mahotsav website has failed to acknowledge such people from marginalised communities.

Speaking on other contemporary topics, he criticised the removal of chapters on Darwin’s evolution theory, periodic tables from certain school textbooks, and the “changing of history”. On a lighter vein, he referred to those who brought about these changes as “textbook ka tukde-tukde gang”.

“Two things that are facing severe destruction, one is education and the other is history. The assault on these two is very central… I am not saying that history should not be revisited and updated, I am saying history should not be re-invented,” said Sainath, who is the founder editor of People’s Archive of Rural India.