Book recounts ‘The Ghadar Movement — A forgotten struggle’

‘The Ghadar Movement —- A forgotten struggle’ was formally launched by author and veterinarian, Rana Preet Gill, at Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall here on Saturday.

The event was organised by Parwaz organisation in collaboration with Desh Bhagat Yadgar Committee. Writer Harwinder Bhandal presented a note at the launch and said that Rana Preet Gill has done a good job in choosing a subject that had been long forgotten in history.

Sharing insight from her book, Gill said, “Ghadar Movement was started by Indian immigrants —- Sikh uneducated peasants, students like Kartar Singh Sarabha and exiled revolutionaries, back in 1913. It was not purely a Sikh movement but the most secular movement of Indian Independence which though did not just get us Independence, left an indelible mark in history. The Ghadar Movement ended in 1918 and the Ghadarites were executed or exiled to Cellular Jail. Women like Gulab Kaur and Agnes Smedley too were part of this movement.”

Baljit Bal conducted the stage. Talking about the reason to write this book, Gill said that a trip to Andamans in 2019 led her to a lesser known revolutionary Pandit Ram Rakha Balli, who was part of the Mandalay Conspiracy. Bali, whose statue is installed in a park in front of Cellular Jail, sat on a hunger strike protesting the removal of his jenue.

Vijay Bombelli, a historian, in his address, unearthed some unknown facts about Bali. “Bali being a Pandit, was not religious. When the Cellular Jail officials wanted to remove the kirpans of the Sikh revolutionaries, he made a ‘jenue’ out of his clothes and wore it, challenging them to remove it. And while he was protesting, an enfeebled Bali was thrown into the sea when he was still alive. This new revelation about Pandit Ram Rakha is significant.”

Darshan Khatkar appreciated the author, who though not a historian, made an effort to write about the various facets of Ghadar Movement which was a very challenging task. The book has made it to top 10 non-fiction books in India and is getting a very good response from the readers, he said.