Post

More from @sadaashree

Lone Wolf Ratnakar

@sadaashree

Aug 17

Madan Lal Dhingra is hanged to death on this date in 1909 in London. A great revolutionary, close associate of Veer Savarkar, whose story needs to be known more.

Hailing from Amritsar, the sixth born of the city’s Civil Surgeon, two of his brothers were doctors, while two other were barristers. Coming from a well to do and influential family, Dhingra, could have settled into a life of luxury and comfort.

Yet he was restless, driven by the call for Swadeshi, right from his student days at the Government College, Lahore in 1904. He led the student protest there against having to forcibly wear a blazer made of imported cloth, which led to his expulsion in turn.

Read 53 tweets

Lone Wolf Ratnakar

@sadaashree

Aug 16

"We do not want war. If you want war we accept your offer unhesitatingly. We will either have a divided India divided or a destroyed India."-Muhammad Ali Jinnah, August 16, 1946

The Muslim League’s call for Direct Action, demanding a separate homeland, ignited one of the darkest chapters in the subcontinent’s history. What began in Kolkata on August 16, 1946, soon spiraled into a blood-soaked reckoning.

Kolkata burned first as Hindu homes and businesses were targeted in a coordinated pogrom. The city’s streets ran red as communal fury eclipsed reason.

Then followed Noakhali in East Bengal, where entire Hindu villages were razed. Survivors spoke of mass rapes, forced conversions, and abductions. Gandhi himself walked barefoot through the ruins, seeking to restore humanity.

Bihar and United Provinces erupted as retaliatory violence surged, engulfing towns and villages in a cycle of vengeance. The dream of unity lay shattered.

As the sun set on the British Empire, the Cabinet Mission—led by Prime Minister Clement Attlee—arrived with a blueprint to shape the future of a free India with a proposal on May 16, 1946, that would be a three tiered structure.

Read 31 tweets

Lone Wolf Ratnakar

@sadaashree

Aug 14

Which great revolutionary was born on August 15 and hanged to death on January 26?

The Bangalore City Railway Station is named after him, and the theme of Independence Day flower show this year in Lalbagh is about him.

Krantiveera Sangoli Rayanna, tale of a great revolutionary which needs to be known to all.

In the quiet folds of Northern Karnataka lies Kittur, a town that once roared with rebellion. Long before 1857 etched itself into textbooks, Rani Chennamma of Kittur stood tall in 1824 — a lone queen challenging the might of the East India Company.

Born in the village of Kakati, nestled in the heart of Karnataka, Chennamma belonged to a proud Lingayat family — rooted in spiritual strength and social reform. At just 14, she was married to Raja Mallasarja, ruler of Kittur, stepping into royal life with grace and quiet resolve.

In 1824, the same year her husband passed away, her young son too left the world, leaving Chennamma not just widowed, but childless — a queen without an heir, a mother without a child.

Read 27 tweets

Lone Wolf Ratnakar

@sadaashree

Aug 11

Veer Savarkar's mercy petition to the British has seen many "esteemed" historians and some political leaders calling him a coward and collaborator with the colonial regime.

Was Savarkar alone in seeking pardon or relief from the British government? Did not many of the freedom fighter occasionally write to the British as part of their strategy, submitting petitions?

This post takes a look at the question.

In October 1913, when Reginald Henry Craddock, the Home Member of the Government of India, visited Cellular Jail, Barindra Ghosh, Hrishikesh Kanjilal, Nand Gopal, and Sudhir Kumar Sarkar, convicted in Alipore Bomb Case also submitted the mercy petitions.

So prisoners in Cellular Jail submitting petitions was not exactly uncommon.

Sachindranath Sanyal, one of the founders of HRA, was arrested and deported to Cellular Jail for conspiring against the Government. In his book Bandi Jeevan Sanyal clearly mentions how he was released after an amnesty appeal by him.

“When I was set free from Andaman, Mr. B.C. Chatterjee told me something which I should mention here. I had stated in a letter from Andaman that if the British government seriously provides an opportunity to Indians to do what they believe is best for the well-being of their nation, then why should we dabble with fire through bloodshed through secret conspiracy.”

Read 15 tweets

Lone Wolf Ratnakar

@sadaashree

Aug 2

Today is Jayanti of Pingali Venkayya Gaaru, the designer of our Tiranga, a freedom fighter, polymath, scholar, who unfortunately spent the last days of his life in dire poverty and did not even get the due credit for the National Flag.

Venkayya first proposed a national flag in 1921. His original design featured saffron denoting renunciation, while green depicted relation to soil, along with a spinning wheel (charkha) at the center symbolizing self-reliance and the Swadeshi movement.

At Mahatma Gandhi’s suggestion, he added a white band for peace and representing the path of truth for conduct.

Over time, the flag evolved and the Ashoka Chakra, symbolizing eternal progress and righteousness, replaced the charkha in 1947 when the flag was officially adopted.

Venkayya Gaaru’s legacy is stitched into every fold of the Tiranga. And yet, his story often remains in the shadows.

Read 20 tweets

Lone Wolf Ratnakar

@sadaashree

Jul 31

When Naatu Naatu song won the Oscar in 2023, many dismissed it as gibberish, with a whole lot of “cinephiles” expressing outrage.

The song actually references rural life in Telugu land that often gets lost in translation. I mean the Hindi version was Naacho, Naacho( Dance, Dance) that makes no sense really.

This post looks at those references.

Chandrabose the lyricist, comes from a small village in erstwhile Warangal district, and he wrote the song based on his growing up experiences. Though the references in the song are related to both Andhra and Telangana rural life.

Also the lyrics used in the song are a more native form of Telugu different from the Sanskritized version. The language here is more rustic, spoken primarily in the rural areas.

Also the fast beats and music is again much similiar to the celebrations in the village jataras, that are quite noisy and boisterous.

Read 17 tweets

Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

Lone Wolf Ratnakar

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

More from @sadaashree

Lone Wolf Ratnakar

Lone Wolf Ratnakar

Lone Wolf Ratnakar

Lone Wolf Ratnakar

Lone Wolf Ratnakar

Lone Wolf Ratnakar

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Send Email!