Indian Independence Movement

"Largely because of the influence of communists in London, Huddar's conversion into an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against fascism was quick and smooth. The ease with which he crossed from one worldview to another betrays the fact that he had not properly understood the world he had grown in."

"By the time he came out of Franco's prison, Huddar had relinquished many of his old ideas. He displayed a worldview completely different from that of the RSS, even though he continued to remain deferential to Hedgewar and maintained a personal relationship with him."

"Huddar would have been 101 now had he been alive. But then centenaries are not celebrated only to register how old so and so would have been and when. They are usually celebrated to explore how much poorer our lives are without them. Maharashtrian public life is poorer without him. It is poorer for not having made the effort to recall an extraordinary life."

"I regret I was not there to listen to Balaji Huddar's speech [...] No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again."

"Young though he was, his radiant energy produced such an impression of absolute reliability that Hedgewar made him the first sarkaryavah, or general secretary, of the RSS."

"One evening, he [Bose] called me to his place in Bombay [...] One Mr. Shah, with whom I was not acquainted, was with him. Netaji asked me if I would be his emissary to Dr. Hedgewar, with whom he would like to have a talk. He asked me to go to Nasik where Dr. Hedgewar was spending the summer with Babasaheb Ghatate [...] Mr. Shah was to accompany me [...] In Nasik, Babasaheb greeted me warmly and enquired about our mission. I told him that we had come to see Doctorsaheb. Mr. Shah waited outside and I was ushered into the room where Doctorsaheb was joking and laughing with some youngsters—all volunteers of the RSS [...] Doctorsaheb protested that he had been in Nasik as he was ill and was suffering from some unknown malady [...] I entreated him not to give up this chace of an interview with a great leader of the Congress and the nationalist force in India, but he would not pay heed to me. He protested all through that he was too ill to have a talk [...] As I left the room, the RSS volunteers entered and laughter broke out again."

"This great anti-Fascist body of men have assured me that they will fight side by side with the Indian peoples."

"The honour you have done me is really the honour to the cause of democracy and freedom which Spanish workers and peasants are defending with their lives. [...] The fight for democracy is in India just as it is in Spain. The very same British Imperialism which helps Franco and Mussolini in their attempt to destroy Spain is holding us down. We have to fight against it. We have to build the unity of the workers, peasants and the middle classes just as the Spanish people have done."

"I brought it to his [Hedgewar's] notice that the RSS remained a static organisation and that it did not develop into a dynamic movement, while we know that it was the dynamism of a movement alone that made an organisation powerful—otherwise it degenerated into a samsthan [...] The RSS had to guard against this danger which helped the growth of complacency and self-righteousness. My words fell on deaf ears and all my efforts to woo the Sarsanghchalak came to a naught."

"Khudiram's execution took place at 6 a.m. this morning. He walked to the gallows firmly and cheerfully and even smiled when the cap was drawn over his head."

"Khudiram Bose was executed this morning...It is alleged that he mounted the scaffold with his body erect. He was cheerful and smiling."

"Neither the Jubilee murder of 1897, nor the reported tampering of the Sikh regiments had produced so much commotion, and the English public opinion seems inclined to regard birth of the bomb in India as the most extraordinary event since the mutiny at 1857.[19]"

"Though I have no sympathy with and cannot admire armed rebellion, I cannot withhold my homage from a youth so brave, so sacrificing, so simple and so noble in character as young Shri Rama Raju . . . Raju was (if he is really dead) not a fituri but a great hero. Would that the youth of the country cultivated Shri Rama Raju’s daring, courage, devotion and resourcefulness and dedicated them for the attainment of swaraj through strictly non-violent means. To me it is daily growing clearer that if the teeming millions whom we the articulate middle classes have hitherto suppressed for our selfish purpose are to be raised and roused, there is no other way save through non-violence and truth. A nation numbering millions needs no other means."

"Sambhudhan Phonglo! Not many, except from the Dimasa tribe, have heard about him. We know how Subash Chandra Bose established the Azad Hind Fauz and raised a huge army of 60,000 plus soldiers in foreign lands. His objective was to involve in war against the British and free India. Sambhudhan Phonglo raised a huge army in the Dimasa territory of the Northeast for war against the British. He was driven by the same objective – drive out the British by involving in war."

"He openly questioned the British when they came to collect taxes, “Have you ever irrigated the land, or planted a seed in your life? Ever harvested or trashed a field? Why would I pay you any tax for what is mine?”"

"Benoy Badal Dinesh — They are three individuals, three brave freedom fighters from West Bengal, but their names are uttered as one. They are inseparable."

"Dinesh Gupta was born on 6 December 1911 in Josholong village. He joined Subhash Chandra Bose’s Bengal Volunteers, while studying in Dhaka College. Dinesh Gupta translated a short story written by Anton Chekhov; it was published in a magazine called Prabasi."

"Santi Ghosh was born on 22 November 1916 in Calcutta. She grew up in a patriotic environment. Her father Debendranath Ghosh was a freedom fighter and a professor of philosophy at Victoria College, Comilla. At the age of 15, Santi Ghosh co-founded the Chhatri Sangha (Girl Students Association) and served as its Secretary. She was not only inspired by her family to be a part of the freedom struggle but also by Prafullanandini Brahma, who was older to her by two years."

"The young Alluri Sitarama Raju was disheartened seeing the condition of the tribal folks. He could have led a peaceful life doing a job. But he gave up everything to fight against the British. Raju held meetings with the tribal leaders. He started devising plans to oust the British from the region. He was instrumental in uniting the tribals of the region and fight for a common cause. The British were superior in number, ammunitions, and in military tactics. Alluri Sitarama Raju suggested use of Guerrilla warfare techniques using bows and arrows and stolen guns and ammunition. He himself trained them."

"The bullet wound made Rajamani limp for life. But she did not regret. Rather she felt proud that her limping was a result of her struggle for the cause of the freedom of India. For her brave act, the Emperor of Japan honored her in front of Netaji. She was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in the Rani of Jhansi Regiment."

"Sachidananda Routray has well paid a tribute to Baji Rout with these opening lines of his poem: It is not a pyre, O Friends! When the country is in dark despair, It is the light of our liberty. It is our freedom-fire.""

"You can kill our human bodies but not our souls made of iron. O Britishers! Whatever measures you adopt to stop us will fail. We shall continue to proceed. None can stop us from hoisting our national flag at the police post."

"Today there begins 'Ghadar' in foreign lands, but in our country's tongue, a war against the British Raj. What is our name? Ghadar. What is our work? Ghadar. Where will be the Revolution? In India. The time will soon come when rifles and blood will take the place of pens and ink."

"March 23, 1931. Time: 7.30 pm. Place: Lahore Jail. It was a Monday. On this day, Bhagat Singh aged 24, Sukhdev 23 and Rajguru 23 were hanged to death by the British. This cruelty and heartlessness of the British Raj was directed towards instilling fear in the hearts of other freedom fighters, but in vain. A thousand Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev sprang up from across the country."

"Eventually, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged. Their bodies were secretly cremated early at dawn outside Ganda Singh Wala village; the ashes were thrown into the Sutlej River."

"Magistrate: What is your name? Chandrashekhar Tiwari: Azad (Free). Magistrate: Your father’s name? Chandrashekhar Tiwari: Swatantrata (Independence). This was the conversation between the court magistrate and Chandrashekhar Tiwari after the latter was arrested for his participation in the non-cooperation movement in December 1921. He was then only 15 years old."

"Mother bid me farewell once, I will be back soon. Whole of India will watch me while I wear the noose smiling…. 10 months and 10 days from now I shall be born to my maternal aunt O Mother If you don’t recognize me Look for the noose around my neck. ...This was the song 18 year old Khudiram sang when he was about to be hanged to death by the British. He was asking his mother (Mother India) to bid him goodbye. This song was composed in first person narrative in honor of Khudiram Bose by poet Pitambar Das."

"Bipin Chandra Pal opined that this emergent pan-Islamism that was catching up in India too was ‘the common enemy of Indian nationalism in its truest and broadest sense’."

"The Indian Muslims are first Muslims, then Indians. According to the Muslim leaders like Syeed Amir Ali, if the foreign Islamic countries invade India, the duties of the Indian Muslims will be to help those Muslim invaders against India, because ‘Muslim identity’ is more important to them."