Untold Tales from the Freedom Struggle

The oldest person I have ever met was my great grandmother who lived till the ripe old age of 94. I remember her as someone who was bent with age, riddled with a laundry list of maladies, and who could barely speak and see. My interactions with her were limited to inquiries about my health, studies, and whether I was being an obedient child. That was my lasting impression of very old people in general. So, when my parents informed me that my evening was going to be hijacked by a ninety-seven-year-old gentleman, I could be forgiven for expecting a male version of my grandma. Imagine my surprise when the youngest-looking nonagenarian I have ever seen walked in, who didn’t hesitate to bend over to scratch my dog’s belly and started cracking jokes as soon as he entered my house.

I realized he wasn’t your typical ninety-seven-year-old. A few minutes into our conversation I realized he wasn’t your typical human either. His name is Lakshmikanthan Bharathi, and he was a freedom fighter who was arrested during the Quit India Movement. His participation in the movement and subsequent arrest resulted in expulsion from his college. But the University later welcomed him with open arms when Rajagopalachari told the Vice Chancellor to do so. Bharathi Ji proudly told us his entire family had participated in various protests during the freedom struggle. His grandfather had led the anti-Hindi imposition agitations in the state and the movement for abolishing untouchability. His parents had also been once imprisoned by the British.

One could still see the teenage rebel in him when he chanted the slogans which he shouted during the protests, such as “Imperialism Down Down!” Another fascinating fact about Bharathi Ji was that he was appointed as the District Collector of Madurai in the 1960s. When he was arrested, he was locked up in the prison which was within the District Collectorate. He puffed up his chest when he told us the doors through which he crossed as a prisoner later welcomed him as a top bureaucrat. He also regaled us with several anecdotes. During his time as a collector, he was supposed to give two talks on the same day. The first talk was about population control. The other one was about increasing rice production. One can easily predict how this story ends. His self-deprecating humor and his deadpan delivery had us in splits all night.

On a more sobering note, he also recounted tales of martyrs we never knew about. Nearly everyone in Tamil Nadu is familiar with the story of Vanchinathan, who assassinated Robert Ashe, a Collector, and then pointed the gun toward himself. But what we didn’t know was, there were 13 other young medicos who were vying for the opportunity for assassinating Ashe despite knowing death was certain. These 13 young men, who had promising careers ahead of them, later killed themselves to avoid capture by the British. Bharathi Ji had tears in his eyes while he was narrating this and so did the suddenly somber audience. And before we knew it, it was time for him to leave. Before parting ways, he had some words of advice for me. He told me to read as much as I could about the people who dedicated their lives to this country, talk about them and write about them. This post is a small step towards fulfilling that promise of never forgetting about them.

We dedicate scant time to think about such people, save on August 15th when we are assaulted by patriotic forwards on WhatsApp and deep proclamations on other social media platforms. But these are feeble attempts at displaying one’s love for the country and gratitude toward the people who fought and died for it. What I would request to those reading this post is to spare some time for learning about heroes who are nearly forgotten, on a regular basis and not just on government-sanctioned holidays.