Martyrdom to Freedom' featured at Kasauli Lit Fest

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, October 12

The book “Martyrdom to Freedom: 100 years of Jallianwala Bagh", edited by Rajesh Ramachandran, Editor of The Tribune, was featured at the Khushwant Singh Literature Festival in Kasauli on the second day today where former diplomats Navtej Sarna and Navdeep Suri also expressed their views on the subject.

Ramachandran, speaking about what went into the making of the book, brought out a century after the massacre, talked about the central role played by The Tribune and its legendary Editor, Kalinath Ray in shaping the public opinion before and after the massacre.

Four days after the massacre, Kalinath Ray was arrested and later was sentenced to two years' rigorous imprisonment by the martial law commission. Even after his release after for months, he did not change the tone and tenor of his writings. The book compiles rare articles from the archives of The Tribune.

Under the dynamic stewardship of Ray, The Tribune continued to question the British government. The book stands testimony to the paper’s commitment to act as a chronicle of colonial atrocities. In the centenary year of the epochal tragedy, the book brings together essays of some of the best-known authors, thinkers and historians of modern India. Published by Rupa, the book is available at the fest.

As the only newspaper at the time to investigate and chronicle the massacre, The Tribune was the lone voice of dissent against the iniquities of the British rule. The book recounts the history behind the massacre and has records of the Hunter Commission proceedings and the inquiry done by Mahatma Gandhi.

Navtej Sarna, a former diplomat, talked about his upcoming book, which is a work of fiction, while another diplomat Navdeep Suri, read out a few lines from his grandfather Nanak Singh’s poetry “Khooni Baisakhi’ during the session.