Freedom Struggle NBT

Freedom Struggle NBT

This year we celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Indian Independence. It is an appropriate occasion for reviewing the history of the struggle waged by the people of India to achieve this freedom which we cherish. We who live in free India, should know that toil and blood went into its making. This book has been planned as a respectful tribute to the millions of the Indian people and their leaders who sacrificed and suffered in the cause of our Independence.

The task, however, was not an easy one. Though the outline of our freedom movement is well-known, much care, knowledge and skill is required to portray in a concise form the history of this struggle in some depth and with all its nuances, and to give an accurate picture of the diverse forces which contributed to it. What increased the difficulty of the task was the need to make the book not a research work for the scholar but a readable account for the general public, especially the younger generation.

I, therefore, invited some of our well-known histori- ans to plan and produce this book. Dr S Gopal was the Chairman of this panel, and its members were Dr Satish Chandra, Dr Amales Tripathi, Dr Bipan Chandra, Dr Barun De, Dr Sheikh Ali, and Dr S R Mehrotra. These scholars agreed on the framework of the book, and re- quested Dr Bipan Chandra to write chapters I and II, Dr Tripathi Chapters III and IV and Dr Barun De chapters V and VI. The drafts prepared by them were considered by the panel and Shri K P Rungachary of the National

Book Trust has edited the whole in the light of the various comments and suggestions made by the panel. I am most grateful to all of them for so readily consenting to under- take this work.

The final text has been approved by the panel. The book, therefore though short, is authoritative and will, I am sure, be widely read. The National Book Trust is bring- ing out translations in all the important Indian languages simultaneously. It should be particularly of use to teach- ers in primary and middle schools, and to students in our higher secondary schools and pre-university classes.

Available at Ksagar Book Centre

www. ksagaronline.com or call on 9545567862 / 02024453065