The Revolutionaries- Shed Their Blood for India's Independence(Set of 2 Volumes

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Justice S.N.Aggarwal hails from a family of freedom fighter. After having a small stint of practice in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, he got into P.C.S.(Judicial) remained posted at different places including ac District Judge Patiala and Jallandhar before being elevated as a Judge. Punjab and Haryana High Court, in November 2004. While in High Court, Justice Aggarwal brought the trial court record of Shaheed-e- Azam Bhagat Singh from Lahore (Pakistan) now lying in the High Court Museum Justice Aggarwal also served as President, State Consumer Redressal Commission, Punjab He has also served as Chairman, Haryana Backward Classes Commission.

Justice Aggarwal served as Law Secretary in the Andaman and Nicobar Administration at Port Blair from May 1990 to September 1902. He authored a book The Heroes of Collar Jail about the supreme sacrifices made by the revolutionary patriots, incarcerated in the Cellular Jail in their struggle for the freedom of the country. Later on he brought it out in a concise form 7he Cellular Jail in Our Freedom Struggle published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) as Supplementary Reading for Senior Secondary School students to update them about this Chapter of History.

This time I thought about writing a book to pay my humble tribute To the hallowed memory of our revolutionary martyrs. They suffered horrific brutalities and cheerfully embraced the gallows for the freedom of our Motherland, but went down un-honoured, unrewarded and unsung in the pages of our history.

Right at the outset, I submit my apology to those selfless revolutionaries who did not find a place in this book owing to my lack of knowledge about them.

This book narrates the heroic deeds and the zeal of revolutionaries for freeing the country from the foreign stranglehold, even at the cost of their own lives. It begins with revolutionaries of the Indian War of Independence in 1857 until the advent of Netaji Bose and the INA trials, which ultimately led to the freedom of the country.

Our revolutionaries from all religions, regions and segments of society fought the Indian War of Independence in 1857. They imposed an iron clad secrecy on their plans and fought for Swaraj and Swadharma as the movement virtually spread all over India. But the bigoted, barbaric face of British imperialists stood exposed in all its nakedness before the entire world, when they killed hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and the old and infirm, not even sparing new-born babies! These inhuman rulers felt no shame in hanging their bodies from the branches of trees. The Indian War of Independence 1857 was lost because of multiple factors.

We may have lost but did not give up. Soon, other revolutionaries like Satguru Ram Singh, Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, Birsa Munda, Chapekar brothers and Shyamji Krishna Varma boldly stepped forward to continue with the battle. They also suffered at the hands of the British and sacrificed their lives.

Towering leaders such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Maharashtra) Lala Lajpat Rai (Punjab) and Bipin Chandra Pal (Bengal), all from the Congress, took over. Of a revolutionary bent of mind, their approach was radically different from that of the policy of futile prayers and petitions adopted by Gopal Krishna Gokhale and continued by Gandhi ji. Sri Aurobindo, the prophet of nationalism, had made a very pertinent observation about the Congress: "If the blind leads the blind shall not both fall in to the ditch?"

The revolutionary fervour at the turn of the 20th century threw up many fiery leaders like VD Savarkar, Lala Har Dayal, Madan Lal Dhingra and towering patriots like Aurobindo Ghose and Ullalar Dutta from Bengal. They continued with fierce commitment to the heroes of 1857, miscalled 'mutiny' by the British. But then, VD Savarkar, after perusing the archives at the British library in London, boldly described it as "The Indian War of Independence 1857.

Savarkar, a born revolutionary, celebrated the golden jubilee of the martyrs of 1857 in London on May 10, 1907, and lauded their role in an ode called 'O Martyrs' published on May 10, 1908. It inspired hundreds of Indians residing and studying in London.

Inspired by Savarkar's patriotism, Madan Lal Dhingra, also studying in London, shot dead Jackson on July 1, 1909. Jackson had once served as the deputy commissioner in Maharashtra and was known to harass revolutionaries. Arrested, tried and sentenced on July 25, Dhingra kissed the gallows on August 17, 1909. His last message was very patriotic as were his deeds.

**Contents and Sample Pages**