History Under Your Feet

What does one make of a man who flew a daring sortie into Dutch occupied Indonesia and sneaked away their Prime Minister?  Or made equally daring sorties into Kashmir during the first India Pakistan war in 1947?  Or a man who set up industries all over Odisha?  Biju Patnaik was not just a political leader, he was also an aeronautical engineer, a fighter pilot, an industrialist and fought for freedom too. He was a true nationalist, and yet the interests of his beloved Odisha, always were close to his heart. A man of unimpeachable integrity,  and a visionary, that was Biju Patnaik.

If only I have eleven more followers like Sriramulu I will win freedom  in a year.Freedom fighter whose fast unto death led to the creation of a separate Andhra State.

Lala Hardayal, the man who co founded the Ghadar Party in US, along with Sohan Singh Bhakna. A legend among revolutionaries, one of the key members of India House in London along with Shyamji Krishna Varma, Veer Savarkar and Madame Bhikaji Cama. A brilliant polymath who turned down a lucrative career in the Civil Services, as he plunged into the revolutionary movement. A leader who inspired many expat Indians in UK, US and Canada to rise against British imperialism. A man known for his rather simple living and brilliant intellectual capability.

Born on the same date as Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, led a long tribal revolt against the British rule in Sambalpur, harassing them to no end, a hero not known much outside of Odisha.

One of the greatest revolutionaries ever of the freedom movement, who shot himself rather than surrender to the British on February 27, 1931 at Alfred Park, Prayaga Raj, which since has been renamed after him.

“Behind every successful man is a woman” so goes the common saying. While we are familiar with Veer Savarkar, not many know about the woman in his life, Yamunabai Savarkar or more affectionately known as Mai. Her real name was Yashoda, and she came from a background, totally different to that of Veer Savarkar’s. 

Veer Savarkar has been one of my heroes. One of the most fascinating, multi talented personalities ever. Freedom fighter, nationalist, activist, thinker, writer and sadly a very misunderstood personality too. Here was some one who braved the worst form of imprisonment at Cellular Jail for not one year, two years, but a whole decade. Imagine spending ten years in a hellhole, that would have broken the spirit of a lesser man. There is so much about Savarkar to be told, his fight for independence, his Hindutva philosophy, his stay in Cellular Jail.

Rani Rashmoni, the founder of the Dakshineshwar Temple in Kolkata, a close associate ot Shri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. One of the most remarkable women ever in Indian history, who financed the construction of Ghats across the Hooghly, took the British head on and played a major role in the Bengali Renaissance.

One of the great scientific achievements of modern India has been Pokhran I on May 18, 1974, when it carried out it’s first ever peaceful nuclear test. And the man behind this feat, Dr Raja Ramanna was one of the most multifaceted personalities ever, an eminent nuclear physicist, technologist, administrator, a gifted musician, Sanskrit scholar. Handpicked by Homi J Bhabha himself, he would go on to lead the team for Pokhran I.

Bipin Chandra Pal, one of the members of the Lal-Bal-Pal trio in Congress, others being  Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai. A nationalist,  writer and thinker, and above all, a man who was uncomprosingly independent in his views.

Sam Manekshaw, aka Sam Bahadur, first Indian army officer to become Field Marshal, who led the Army to it’s greatest moment of triumph in 1971 as Chief of Army Staff.

Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, aka K.M.Munshi, freedom fighter, founder of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, as well as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. A lawyer by profession, he was also one of the foremost writers in Gujarati. And presided over the surrender of the Nizam post Operation Polo.

Birsa Munda in Jharkhand, the only tribal leader whose portrait hangs in Parliament Central Hall and whose Jayanti is celebrated as Jharkhand Day too.

Lachit Borphukan, who would rise to become one of the greatest heroes of Assam, and one of the symbols of resistance to the the Mughal rule. When one writes of the history of resistance to the Mughals, Lachit Borphukan’s name would be there right up with Shivaji and Rana Pratap.

One of the biggest advances in the field of molecular biophysics, has been the discovery of the triple hellical structure of collagen, that enabled a better understanding of the peptide structure.The Ramachandran plot has become a standard description of protein structures in the text books. And the man behind this discovery,  G.N. Ramachandran or GNR as he was known, one of the great Indian scientists of modern era, who was an equally good Vedic scholar, studied the Upanishads in depth and interpreted their teachings.

Komaram Bheem led an intense uprising against both the British and the Nizam rule, in the forests of North Telangana, and gave the slogan of Jal, Jangal, Zameen.

Tatya Tope one of the greats of the 1857 Revolt, who waged a long guerilla war against the British even after the Revolt was crushed. A man who had no formal military training, but was considered one of the finest rebel generals.

One of the great Maratha rulers, who established the Scindias as a powerful ruling kingdom in Central India, made Gwalior the capital.

Satish Dhawan, the 3rd chairman of ISRO, who shaped it’s organizational structure and put in a fine process in place. The father of experimental fluid dynamics research in India, one of the eminent researchers in the field of turbulence.

Shyamji Krishna Varma, one of the most brilliant minds of the modern era, a selfless patriot, who gave his everything for the nation’s freedom. He was deeply influenced by the views of Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s teachings, as well as that of Herbert Spencer.