IN PURSUIT OF FREEDOM: TRAVELS ACROSS PATRIOTIC LANDS
By Pradeep Damodaran
HarperColins, Rs 599
Democracy is not a singular point in history which somehow makes all citizens equal and free. Instead, it is a constant and continuous process. Pradeep Damodaran attempts to trace this process in this book by visiting different parts of India and examining how the quest for freedom has manifested in these places.
Damodaran has divided the book into four parts, each exploring a different flavour of freedom that he observed in the course of his year-long journey across India. He starts his journey from Sabarmati ashram in Ahmedabad and goes on to see whether M.K. Gandhi remains relevant today. From coming across distasteful comments in a visitor’s book at the ashram to travelling to Dandi beach where Gandhi marched in 1930 to break the salt law and, then, meeting tribal youth at Dharampur where they still practise Gandhian ways to speak up about their issues, this part of the book coalesces the memories of Gandhi that remain.
The second part goes through several locations in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, beginning with Jhansi where the author tries to unravel the perception of locals of Laxmibai, Jhansi’s famous queen, and ending in Motihari with reminiscences of the historical importance of Gandhi’s Champaran satyagraha.
The next bit is dedicated to reliving forgotten chapters from history and retelling their tales. Ghadar Party’s Bhagat Singh Bilga shared the last name with his village situated in Jalandhar. Damodaran goes on to meet his sons at this remote place and is taken on a stroll across the site of the glorious revolt against the British by the Ghadarites.
The book’s concluding section reflects on what lies at the core of freedom and dissent. Damodaran visits Panchalankurichi in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district and Idinthakarai in Tirunelveli to rediscover the legacy of Veerapandiya Kattabomman, the king of Panchalankurichi in the 18th century who had fought against the East India Company. He then probes into the anti-nuclear protests and what they resulted in.
The journey that Pradeep Damodaran embarked upon seems to be his own satyagraha: a quest for freedom in a bid to contextualise it with historical events. The author’s conversations with locals help readers understand whether the nation has grasped these historic epochs and why Indians should care for them. The book amalgamates Damodaran’s travelogue with important signposts in Indian history, making it easier for the reader to understand the need to pursue freedom.
