The True Story

Sohan Lal Pathak 0136 Sohanlal Pathak

 V G Pingle 0134

 V.G. Pingle

Jagat Singh Sur Singh0130Jagat Singh Sur Singh

The British domination over India took proper form and shape by 1857. AND India finally got its freedom in 1947. In those 100 years passage of time the role of many freedom fighters was obscured, ignored or forgotten.

THE GADAR MOVEMENT is one such forgotten chapter. The Aspirations of the Gadar revolutionaries and their heroism rarely found a mention in the popular history of India’s freedom struggle.

One is deeply grieved by the distortion and neglect of many aspects of the true story of the Indian freedom movement and the political bias that informs its various retellings.

While in USA they said in one voice -

Hum Hain Hindu Naa Sikh Issai,
Hum To Hein Bas Hindustani

Each one has played a very important role be it as an intellectual studying at UC Berkeley or as a laborer in the fields. They came together when the students would go for summer jobs to Stockton.

There were about 8000 Indians in the west coast between Vancouver, Oregon and California who joined the movement. 10 of them were main leaders out of which 6 were the founders of the original movement.

Gadar Ki Goonj – “the sound of revolution” – a newspaper started in San Francisco reached far and wide all over the world, especially young bright Indians in India.

The passion and the fire roused in the hearts of the young Gadarites sprang from the stirring content of the published materials flowing from the San Francisco fountainhead and the inspiration provided by the Gadarite’s manifest willingness to act upon these ideals.

The writings were directed at the educated youth of India, the near illiterate soldiers in the British Indian army, conservative businessmen and reactionary princes of the princely states all those fed up with the British Atrocities in India.

Ram Chandra said, “We wish to emphasize that all we are doing is preach Liberty, equality and Fraternity. The birthright of every human being and to awaken the world to a realization of the enslaved conditions of India, where these basic principles are denied to all”.

Babu Harnam singh 36

 Babu Harnam Singh

 Sardar Patel

Sadar Patel

Ram Chandra Bhardwaj 0129Ram Chandra Bhardwaj