The Nitpicker's Chronicle (Flip Side Story of Indian National Movement)

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The content of the book is presented in an innovative style to revisit the formative days of Indian politic through the eyes of a nitpicker’s. At the beginning it would appear that the write-up is an acrimonious criticism sketching luscious stories to captivate the readers. But as one flips through the pages, he would come across the accomplished facts, which could never be defied. The book has been divided into several sections, each of which is an exploration of a particular theme. Readers with ‘imperfect’ knowledge of the nation’s history would, hopefully, take back something meaningful from nitpicker’s dissection of the legacies of India’s icons The book chronicles untold mysteries and controversies in Indian politics since infancy and how relentlessly the other part tried to cover those up from public gaze. The protagonists of the freedom movement were people of flesh and blood and were not celestial beings to be adored in temples. Unlike conventional texts on narrative history, this book is a truthfully effort to explore the enigmas of Indian politics, which was never attempted before. Most of the evidences are taken from first-hand information sources like autobiographies, speeches, hitherto- unpublished government records and files, contemporary newspapers and journals, personal letters and resolutions of minutes, to testify the analysis at various levels. With all these unique features, this book becomes an interesting read.

Sudipta Mitra is an aficionado and a freelance columnist on colonial past and a photographer working for the last twenty years. A doctor by profession, the author is a regular columnist on historical anecdotes and nature and is also associated with many Societies. His commitment to acquire an authentic knowledge on colonial politics down the ages has evolved a remarkable experience.

From time immemorial, India has been blessed with personalities who have left not only an indelible mark on its culture but also shaped its character. India is known to the world through the eyes of great pathfinders, and their wisdom in building up the modern nation is unanimously accepted. On the critical analysis of their views, one can find certain divergences, which in the real sense, might be logical in the prior circumstances. Although conflicting, the views are genuine and expressed with great solemnity.

The path of freedom, since the colonial days, encountered successive seismic waves before reaching the final destination in 1947. Controversies prevailed in the national politics during that time, and the nation was put to occasional strains of contradictions. As lines were drawn to ‘delineate political debates, positions became more polarised. Trailblazers strived to build up more rhetoric ideologies to put forth their rationale. The dichotomy that prevailed at that time can tell how the nation reached its destiny. Nitpickers might quibble that if the great men of yore were so great, why did they fail to build a great nation? How could the evils of religious bigotry occupy an enduring place in the heart of the nation when the great men decided to bisect the country on communal lines only to build India as a secular republic where religiosity would have no place in the statecraft? No wonder the great men fought a tough battle to break the shackles of subservience. They were great thinkers too. Traditionally India is hallowed by great thinkers, known not only for their sagacity but also their relevance in today’s world. The depth and diversity of their thoughts and the spectrum of issues they debated on, earned them a unique distinction worldwide.

About half a century before independence, in the era of nationalism and struggle against the colonial hegemony, Indian politics was flooded with ideas of great visionaries on subjects elucidating what India was and what she could or should be in the days ahead. Some of them were attracted to the Western models, while others relied upon the traditional culture and religion. Few expressed confidence on the British administration. The divergence of opinion owing to political ideologies of the political class was not new, rather expected. India is a land of diversity where lived seven times more people than those in His Majesty’s country at the turn of the last century. There have been divisions on the grounds of religion, caste, creed, faith, custom, gender, colour and language. There was a time when leaders were indecisive, and there were divergences of opinion on democracy, secularism, freedom of speech, solidarity, justice, stand on the princely states and, lastly, the inevitable partition of the country. Directions were many, including Swaraj, Ahimsa, Satyagraha, terrorism, non-cooperation, Poorna-Swaraj and even declaration of war against the Crown. Despite their dissimilitude, the profounder had the same goal, which was to achieve freedom. But the conflicts of thoughts and egotism did not disappear; in fact, they multiplied, which further led to the fraction of the leading parties like the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League and that too many a time on the verge of attaining freedom.