Veteran journalist and author Palagummi Sainath criticised the Central government for ‘ignoring the foot soldiers of India’s freedom struggle’ during the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav campaign that lasted for over three years and culminated on August 15, 2023.
“No government portal or website has photographs or any history of the unsung heroes of the Indian freedom struggle,” Mr. Sainath said while speaking at the release of the Telugu translation of his book ‘The Last Heroes: Foot Soldiers of Indian Freedom’ at Acharya Nagarjuna University on Wednesday. The Telugu translation is titled ‘Akhari Yodhulu: Swatantra Porata Padati Sainikulu’.
AP Agriculture Mission Vice-Chairman M.V.Y.S. Nagi Reddy and Commissioner, AP State Information Commission, Samuel Jonathan attended the book release as guests. The ceremony was organised by the university. Vice-Chancellor P. Rajasekhar also spoke.
After launching the book, Mr. Sainath interacted with students and answered several questions posed by them on various fields, including agriculture crisis, farmers’ problems, rural economy, cultural diversity, social issues, freedom struggle and media independence.
“There is no mention in history about the millions of women who struggled for the freedom of India. Apart from directly participating in the independence struggle, the women cultivated foodgrains and cooked food for men who took part in the struggle against the British Raj,” he said. The women were an integral part of the struggle as they encouraged their husbands and children to directly participate in the fight while taking care of the house, which was a great sacrifice on their part. These sacrifices have not been recognised, he explained.
Further, he added that the Indian government had linked freedom fighters’ recognition with monthly pensions, which led to many people who fought for independence being ignored. “A majority of the freedom fighters rejected pension at that time stating that they struggled not for pension but for freedom. Now, the present generation can no longer find those heroes who did not opt for pension as there are no records of them,” Mr. Sainath said.
