Chapter V

AFFIRMATION THROUGH SACRIFICE

The history of India's freedom struggle is replete with

incidents of voluntary self sacrifices by great patriots, who felt heroic

death preferable to submission to the domination of an unjust and

alien power. It is doubtful whether historians have done full justice to'

the part played by these selfless pursuers of freedom who deemed

everything, including their own lives subordinate to their ultimate

goal. They were real 'karmayogis', one and all, who could scale

supreme heights of human endurance. Chaman Nahal, in the Gandhi

Quartet Successfully unravels this parallel strand in the fabric of the

freedom struggle, relegated to the background by most writers of

Indian - English fiction. Nahal's researches into the little known facts

about these brave fighters and the impetus their endeavours gave to

the overall freedom struggle convinced him of the necesdity to bring

their contributions to the limelight by fictionalising their lives. He

recalls:

Surprisingly, I found other non - Gandhian movements

which contributed to the overall Freedom Movement, like

the violent revolutions. Gandhi talked about non violence.

Rash Bihari, Bhagat Singh, Subhas Chandra Bose were

people who believed the British could be driven out

through organised physical force. I'am fascinated by that

too'

Historians generally trace the origin of mass rebellions

against the British rule in India to the 1857 uprising of the Indian

soldiers in the British Army. There had been sporadic outbursts of

violence against the government from time to time, but these mostly

stemmed from lccal issues or as part of communal clashes which the

British rule could suppress with an iron hand. Even the factors that

culminated in the 1857 uprising, it may be seen, were purely religious

in nature and the mutineers had hardly any nationalistic feelings or

political objective to motivate them. It is only very late in the history of

the freedom struggle that we see organised revolutionary groups

achieving any signficant victory. The British India of the time was a

much divided terrain, with hundred - odd. princely states, each a t

loggerheads with the other, and owing allegiance to the British crown

in varying degrees. The first ever sprouting of nationalistic feelings on

a massive scale may be traced back to the agitations that rocked the

whole of Bengal, consequent on the partition of the province in 1905.

Bengalis, irrespective of religious or class distinctions had vehemently

opposed the proposal for a division of their homeland, but the

government proceeded with the plan, unmindful of the public outcry

against it. This authoritarian attitude of the ruling British gave rise to

unprecedented mass movements led by the best brains of the time like

Lala Lajpat Rai and Balgangadhara Tilak. The Swadeshi movement,

started with the boycott of foreign goods, soon became a national

movement. Leaders like B.G. Tilak and Aurobindo Ghosh were

impatient with the moderate attitude adopted by the Congress and its

leaders. Very soon this dissatisfaction culminated in the formation of a'

new party known as the Extremist party of Bengal that had on its

agenda the liberation of the whole of India. The real genesis of the

militant nationalism that came to exist side by side with the

mainstream national movement may be seen as an off-shoot of this

new awakening created by the Extremist Party.

The Extremists drew their inspiration mainly from the

speeches and writings of Swami Vivekananda and from the Bhagavat

Gita. Vivekananda, at that time was making history by exhorting the

people to accept the Vedas and the Upanishads as the spring and

sustenance of Hindu religion and culture. The Upanishads, he

maintained, "restore coafidence in man, they ask him to shed all

weakness, pessimism towards life and face the world with strength2.

He also extolled the virtues of suffering for the sake of others by

quoting the example of Lord Buddha, The Buddha, he pointed out, was

a perfect agnostic, and yet was ready to lay down his life for any one

and worked all his life for the good of all3. This philosophy of suffering

undertaken for the good of the larger humanity had a direct appeal to

the conscience of the revolutionaries who were much concerned about

the plight of the down - trodden, suffering millions of India. The

message of the Bhagavat Gita, the age old text that expounded the

philosophy of work without desire of reward, further refurbished their

faith in undergoing suffering for the redemption of their fellow

countrymen. The Gita proclaims in no uncertain terms that the life of

a self - indulgent person who fails to fuW his obligations in this cycle

of mutual inter - dependence and service, is a vain and sinful life. It

also sp2aks about Yajna as a mode of self sacrifice - the offering of

what one considers precious for the service of God and one's own fellow

beings" It is this creed of self sacrifice and willing abjuration of

personal comfort that prompted many a youth to undertake hazardous

mis~ions to subvert the British rule, which they considered a blot upon

the dlgnity of every self respecting Indian. It is proved by official

records that the Gita and the works of Vivekananda served as a Magna

Carta for the terrorists and many copies of them were seized by the

police in the course of their search5.

The Indian National Congress, hitherto content with

petitioning the government for the redressal of grievances, mean while

got galvanised by the presence of Gandhi a t the helm of affairs. The

non - violent method of resistance he preached and practised was

gaining widespread acclaim and acceptability and people from all

walks of life, leaving their home and hearth were coming forward to

join the band of non - violent sathyagrahis. In a way this newly created

national consciousness also became a fertile ground for the

revolutionaries to propagate their philosophy of a violent revolution a s

the only tool to overthrow the British rule. The ends have already been

outlined by Gandhi in unequivocal terms. The revolutionaries differed

from the Indian National Congress only in the ways adopted by them.

Most of the revolutionaries, as shown by Nahal in his

Gandhi Quar te t were initiated into the freedom struggle through the

Swadeshi Movement. Later they began to feel that the moderates with

their non violent method were "not taking the people forward" (The

crown-63) and broke away from the main stream of the movement to

form independent units. Nahal thus graphically describes the

philosophy of life cherished by a number of such revolutionaries in the

persons of Rakesh, Joseph Daniel, Bhagat Singh, Charulatha, Sen and

Subhas Chandra Bose. The activities in which these extremists were

involved were neither isolated reactions against any specific measure

of the government, nor designed simply as a remedy against any

particular grievance. "Save in methods of operation" observe noted

historian R.C. Majumdar "It is hard to distinguish the terrorists from

the nationalists". Using the term militant nationalism" to these

movements, he further observes:

The essential and fundamental ideas were the same in

the two cases, but while the nationalist relied mainly on

passive resistance or other forms of self assertion on an

organised basis, the extreme leR school had no faith in

these methods and activities and regarded armed

resistance as the only feasible way of destroying British

powers.

Rakesh, presented in the Gandhi Quartet a s a foil to the

Gandhian Sunil is one such revolutionary. He is the head of a

revolutionary organisation called The Himmat the Urdu word meaning

'valour'. True to his faith, he is presented as the v e q epitome of

courage, taking great risks in planning and executing sabotage against

the British. "I am an Indian nationalist", he tells the American lady

Celia Ashby, "and I won't rest until the last of the British are driven

out of India". (The crown - 223) He is personally involved in the

attempted assassination of the Prince of Wales during his visit to

India. Unfortunately his brother - in law Sunil, while trying to save

the Prince, becomes the target of his revolver. Later on he

impersonates Subhas Bose to divert the attention of the police, thereby

aiding the latter's escape to Afghanistan. The high risks he takes to

steal himself into the Alipore Central Jail, where Bhagat Singh is

waiting execution are quite thrilling.

Darbara Singh and Pitamber Singh, likewise are two

veteran revolutionaries who had spent the best part of their lives in.

the dreaded cellular jails on the Andamans. They had "nothing but

revolution in their blood" (The Salt. 394) and even the long and lonely

spells in the worst of the cells failed to deter them from pursuing their

long cherished goal, once the Japanese set them free. They are seen

attending the historic meeting of the Congress, summoned to pass the

Quite India resolution.

Darbara poses some unpleasant questions to Gandhi

regarding the role of the revolutionaries in such a movement:

Would you today, Mahatmaji, a t this juncture in our

freedom movement, hold the great Shivaji in any lesser

esteem merely because he fought violently? Would you

hold Rana Pratap in any lesser esteem? ..... what exactly is

the difference between subversion and non- co operation,

or between sabotage and non - cooperation? (The

Triumph. 23,24)

Darbara Singh's arguments set Gandhi thinking whether

it is possible to draw a line of demarcation between violence and non -

violence at such a critical juncture in the struggle. Gandhi a t last gives

a reply, somewhat sanctioning violence, but only when one reaches,

what he terms as the "terminal point of non - violence". (The Salt .21)

Bipin Chandra, while tracing the course of the Quit Indian Movement

observes that, there were occasions when even Gandhi refused to

condemn the violence on the part of the people, a s he "saw it as a

reaction to the much bigger violence of the state7". This point of

convergence of the violent and the non - violent streams of resistance

had evolved as a historical necessity in the finale of a long - drawn

struggle with occasional bloody interludes.

Nahal introduces Subhas Cnahdra Bose in person only

towards the close of The Tr iumph of t h e Tricolour. The second

world war has all but ended and the Japanese army is making a

hurried retreat from Malaya. Subhas, who had all along stood and

fought with them throughout the war is a desperate man now. Still he

does not entertain any idea of surrendering to the British army. He is

bitter towards the Japanese too, for their betrayal and humiliation of

his army. Subhas feels cornered and a t the end of his political and

military tether. Like all true self - respecting revolutionaries he would

prefer death to humiliation a t the hands of his adversary. Nahal thus

throws some light on his mental make up:

He would surrender to them (The British) today if they

were to behead him and display his head on a pile from

the Red Fort ... He preferred death to a life of humiliation.

(The Triumph-298)

Subhas Bose's indomitable will and optimism give him

strength to undertake the hazardous journey by plane to Tokyo. He

still nurses the hope of refurbishing his battered army, to start a fresh

assault some day. He is only sad a t the lack of courage and fighting

spirit the Indians at large betray a t this hour of crisis. At one time

Bose's army consisted of two full divisions of about thirty thousand

men. Now the number is drastically reduced. Many are dead. Many

had deserted him in defeat. His parting words to Naval, his trusted

lieutenant is prophetic enough. "We have to learn to be a brave race"

he tells Naval, "We have to learn to fight and we have to learn to die".

(The Triumph - 312) Nahal presents this great stalwart of the freedom

struggle as a perennial source of unrelenting will power, energy and

optimism. Ever since his resignation from the presidentship of the

Indian National Congress in 1939 to form the 'Forward Block' with a

view to rallying the entire left wing under one banner, Subhas had led

a life of great suffering and turmoil. He got brickbats in plenty from

his former collegues while the government was all set to crush him.

His stead fastness and perseverance had won him the devotion of

thousands of Indians, who leaving behind the comforts of a settled life,

marched to join the INA.

This sort of single minded devotion to the work a t hand

and firmness of purpose are characteristic of all the revolutionaries

Nahal depicts in the Gandhi Quartet. The well planned attack on the

Prince of wales far excels similar exploits by modern militant

organisations. Charulatha and Sen, the two fiery revolutionaries from

Bengal have to prove their mettle before the senior leaders to let them

ride the tongas that would ultimately crash on the dais on which the

Prince of Wales sits. They expect nothing short of death, irrespective of

whether the mission fails or succeeds. Their firm conviction that the

time is ripe for the supreme sacrifice has totally erased all fear of

death from their minds. They remind us of the 'Chaver pada' or suicide

squads of Valluvakonathiri referred to in Kerala history, and sung

about in innumerable ballads who, though reduced in number, fought

an unrelenting war against the Zamorin's huge armed force. William

Logan, praising the selfless devotion of these soldiers, surmises that

they were real "heroes who fell in performance of solemn vows to fight

till deaths". Joseph Daniel the dreaded revolutionary and his consort

Dulari like wise court heroic deaths after successfully blocking the

Kohima pass with their comrades for over two weeks. They go all the

way to the Burmese border to join the Indian National Army.

These revolutionaries pictured in the Gandhi Quartet

all share some common ideals with the non - violent Sathyagrahis. All

of them are fired by the same urge to break the shackles of humiliation

that bound their mother country. Their sense of human dignity and

self respect does not allow them to rest in peace while theirs and their

fellowmen's birthrights get trampled under the feet of an alien power.

Their philosophy of life is better summed up in the words of Rakesh

when he says "better to be dead than to be alive as a captive". (The

Salt-56) The revolutionary finds death preferable to a life of

humiliation and servitude. Gandhi too had expressed his preference of

an honourable death over humiliation by the adversary:

A votary of Ahimsa would, on bent knees implore his

enemy to put him to death rather than humiliate him or

make him do things unbecoming to the dignity of a

human beingg.

There are striking similarities in the call of action given

by the revolutionaries and that of Gandhi. The revolutionaries make it

very clear that they want only persons of real valour who will not

easily succumb to pain and suffering and who will get nothing but

death as remuneration for their work. Nahal quotes an advertisement

that appeared in the Ghadar, the official journal of the Ghadar party:

Wanted

Heroes to organise revolt

Remuneration : Death

Reward : Martyrdom

Pension : Freedom

Place of work : Hindustan (The crown - 393)

Many a patriot had joined the part in response to this call

and reached the Indian shore aboard the ship Kamagata Maru, but

were fired at by the British police a t the mouth of the Hoogly. Many

were killed, while most got arrested and deported from India. Yet,

some including Darbara Singh managed to escape and built

revolutionary strongholds.

Gandhi also had foreseen the innumerable sufferings the

Sathyagrahis were likely to experience in the course of the non violent

resistance. He had even warned them of the possibility of courting

martyrdom during the struggle:

I may have to see not three, but hundred and thousands

being done to death during the campaign I am about to

launch. I want you all to treasure death and suffering

more than life, and to appreciate their cleansing and

purifying characterlo".

Perhaps this dichotomy of Gandhian precepts and

revolutionary ideals merging a t some point is better explained by

Hochimin, the undisputed revolutionary leader of Vietnam when he

visited India in 1958. When asked to compare his role in Vietl.am with

that of Gandhi in India, he said, "I myself and others may be

revolutionaries, but we all have been disciples of Gandhill". It is the

faith in the end result of their endeavour that sustains and inspires

the revolutionaries to transcend innumerable setbacks. Fbr them, the

end justifies the means. Gandhi too held a similar faith in the ultimate

success of his course of action, but he was quite selective in the means

that led to the final victory. He maintained that the result is destined

to carry the marks of the means by which it is gained:

The means may be likened to a seed, the end to a tree and

there is the same inviolable connection between the

means and the end as there is between the seed and the

treeI2.

Gandhi further maintained that there is a law of nature

that a thing can be retained only by the same means by which it has

been acquired. A thing acquired by violence can be retained by violence

alone. Gandhi had imparted a wider perspective to the word 'Freedom'.

For him, freedom meant an atmosphere conducive to the full

blossoming of an individual's capabilities. Rakesh, after having led a

number of violent encounters with the authorities, is seen entertaining

doubt as to whether the political freedom for which they are fighting is

just "an illusion". He feels that "even when the British are gone, the

common man wdl still be a t the mercy of a governing system". (The

salt-56) Nahal traces this dilution of the volatile spirit of the

revolutionaries by presenting the "dreaded revolutionary, Bhagat

Singh: Pandit Nehru pays a visit to the Alipore central jail where

Bhagat Singh is incarcerated. He tells Nehru that he does not want to

escape from the prison, as in the past. Even the bomb he had thrown

a t the assembly hall was quite harmless. He only wanted his cause to

gain wider public attention. He even tells Nehru that revolutionaries

like him hold Gandhi in the utmost regard (The Salt.82).

While this mellowing up of the revolutionaries is taking

place on one side, we see as a parallel, some of the staunch supporters

of non-violence secretly aiding the revolutionaries in their subversive

activities. Vikram, brought up by Gandhi himself a t the Asram under

strict surveillance gets himself associated with Joseph Daniel, the

doyen of revolutionaries. It is Vikram who suggests the plan to hijack

the sialkot Jammu train carrying the Italian prisoners of war. When

rounded up, Vikram denies every charge made against him. That

Vikram, a true disciple of Gandhi could resort to such an action only

shows the freedom fighters' mutual respect and fellow feeling

regardless of whatever convictions they hold or whatever organisations

they belong to Vikram even offers to accompany Joseph to Imphal

where Subhas 1s expected to come with his troops. He has only one

condition to lay be i~ re the revolution aries - that he "will not, shall not,

cannot willingly, knowingly, take another man's life". (The Triumph -

139), It is ev~dent that Vikram finds it too difficult to cross the

Gandhian boundaries, even after mingling with the revolutionaries

and abettlng violence.

Vikram's mother Kusum also undergoes this sort of

transformation and she is seen blessing the revolutionary youths

heading towards the Burmese border for a final encounter with the

British Raj:

She put a long vermilion mark on the forehead of the

youths who came to her and she said to them, may victory

be yours. She never saw them again and she was not sure

to what extent, how far, her blessings carried them. Yet

she had truly taken on the role of shakthi, she had

become the mother of them all. (The Salt 189).

It may seem paradoxical that Kusum, rendered a widow

a t the hands of a revolutionary, harbours no ill will towards the

militants. Moreover she is too willing to bless them in their endeavour

to court martyrdom for the liberation of their homeland. Kusum who

had the singular opportunity to be with Gandhi, unlike many of the

awowed Gandhians, could well discern that Gandhi too would have

done the same thing under the circumstances. Gandhi had once openly

declared his contacts with the revolutionaries who had great faith in

his trust worthiness. He maintained that he would forfeit their

confidence if he disclosed their names. Herbert Fischer narrates an

incident in which Gandhi desperately tried to save the lives of the

revolutionaries condemned to lead a miserable life in the notorious

prison in the Andamans:

Telegrams from and to the viceroy went back and forth,

and that for the sake of terrorists with whom he (Gandhi)

did not politically agree a t all, but he respected their

patriotism and their readiness for sacrifice's.

The revolutionaries presented in the Gandhi Quartet are,

like Gandhi, totally disinterested in fame or fortune. In fact most of

them had come from affluent families which still held the British Raj

in high esteem. Rakesh's father, Rai Bahdur Hemant Kumar is one of

the leading advocates of Amritsar. He is immensely rich and Rakesh,

being his only son, could have opted for a life of luxury and ease.

Instead, on reaching maturity, he deliberately chose a life full of peril

and discomfort, but no never regretes his choice. Every time he

manages to elude the authorities, he is for planning and executing a

more hazardous plot. The occasional setbacks of the revolutionary

groups never dishearten him. Joseph Daniel, a founder member of the

'Himmat'. likewise was the only son of a wealthy father who owned

apple orchards in Kulu. He had dashed headlong into militant

activities, inspired by the words of Tilak and Aurobindo Ghosh. He had

little respect for non-violence.

Nahal, through deft touches, sketches the picture of this

hardened revolutionary.

Joseph Daniel, disowning the comforts of a warm home

and rich parents, disowning the orchards whose

undisputed master he would have been, betraying friends,

family and teachers had gone in for the shaky realm of

revolt, of inquilab, a realm where bloomed apples redder

and sweeter than any his father grew. (The Triumph -

131)

This formidable and fierce revolutionary, the mention of

whose very name created a cold chill in the minds of the authorities,

regarded his little physical wants as only a burden that stood between

himself and his avowed goal. He carried twenty thousand rupees on his

head, dead or alive. Dulari, his consort, both in his private and public

life sustained him and energised him. This bond of selfless love finds

spiritual affirmation in the violent death they court a t the hands of the

British police.

The revolutionaries' inability to lead a normal family life

is quite obvious. These men, who have willingly accepted a life of

hardships and privations, who had consecrated their lives to the

service of their brethren, could not entertain even the illusion of a

settled family life. As Rakesh puts it, the revolutionarie "carried their

coffin on their head", (The Triumph 398). Deserted by friends and

relatives, ignored by the majority of their countrymen and deprived of

the means to keep their body and soul together, hunted by police and

spies alike, theirs was a very precarious existence. Rakesh passes

through a very short stint of marital bliss with shyama, only to regret

it later. When the call of the hour comes, he has no moral

compunctions in leaving behind his wife and their only child and

dashing headlong into a perilous, perhaps suicidal course of action.

The revolutionaries, though not subscribing to the moral

codes of the society a t large, maintain a strict code of conduct

regarding their womenfolk. A woman who works in the organisation

enjoys full freedom to live with the man of her choice or to remain

single. Their position in the set up is never of a subordinate nature and

gender difference has hardly anything to do with the planning and

execution of risky ventures. The association between Darbara Singh

and Salma, Joseph Daniel and Dulari, Hoshiar Singh and Rosie are all

based on this mutual understanding and faith. It is a n unwritten law

among the revolutionaries, not to snatch each other's girls. These

women, who had deserted their family and friends out of'some sort of

discontentment in their living conditions, are thrilled by the freedom

and recognition they get in the organisation. Thus Rosie, Hoshiar

Singh's beloved, formerly the wife of a railway engine driver becomes

an expert in the derailing of trains. Zahir's Sultana, a final year

student at the Lahore Medical College takes care of the casualties of

the sabotage activities. Dulari, Joseph Daniel's girl had worked inthe

telegraph department and could decode or send Morse messages

whenever required. Darbara sing's mistress Salma was formerly a

prostitute of Hiramandi and she had wide contacts with the

underworld which liberally helped the revolutionaries. Nahal thus

comments on these loyalties that cut across ethnic barriers'.

If the Indian National Congress cut across ethnic

barriers, so did the revolutionary group, and with great

rigour. Whatever their religion, whatever their profession,

having joined a group, the individual was, as it ware,

reborn. And though many conjugal relationships of this

type collapsed, many more continued for years on and on

strict mutual loyalty. (The Triumph - 391).

There is no gender difference in a revolutionary group and

the menfolk fully acknowledge the individuality and personal dignity

of their female counterparts, with the result that these, women are

never victims of what the feminists have come to identlfy as 'male

chauvinism'. It is practical wisdom and not emotional factors that bind

and sustain their relationships. When Joseph Daniel feels that he is

waning away in health, he asks Dulari to take a new lover. Salma

likewise does not suffer from any emotional stress when she opts to

live with another man during Darbar's imprisonment. A revolutionary

is fully conscious of the precarious nature of every assignment he

undertakes. It is assumed that in case of his death in harness, his

woman may take up with some other revolutionary. The general

atmosphere of insecurity and danger prevalent in the movement

prevent these women from unnecessarily brooding over personal

losses. Nahal has defined feminism as "a mode of existence in which

the woman is free of the dependence syndrome'4. All the women

revolutionaries he depicts in the Gandhi Quartet are completely free'

of this dependence syndrome, thereby epitomising the novelist's

concept of the new woman.

The revolutionaries had full faith in the continuity of life

znil the longevity of the cause for which they stood, in spite of the

brevity of their own lives. "No one", says Charulatha, "is indispensable

in the scheme of things". She further asserts her faith in the

imperishable nature of their ideology and the movement it represents:

Whoever has succeeded in wiping out a movement that

put service before self? Were the early Christians wiped

out by the Jews? Was the faith of the Sikh Gurus wiped

out by the Moghul emperors? Heroism is like a crop: the

more you feed it, the more it grows. (The Crown - 395,

396)

It is this code of high heroism added to selfless devotion to

the work a t hand that enabled these patriots to court martyrdom,

which they believed, only strengthened their movement and made

plausible its objectives. The martyrdom of Rakesh, Joseph Daniel,

Darbara Singh, Salma and Dulari has to be viewed in this light. Abha,

Rakesh's only daughter, disowned by him in her infancy, feels that her

father has courted martyrdom for a right cause and so is a true hero.

Dhanvanti, Rakesh's mother feels that her son's execution "bordered

on the lofty and the tragic". (The Salt, 451).

The martyrdom of Darbara Singh comes, not out of a

negation of life but in full affirmation of it. He had spent the best part

of his life for the realization of a lofty ideal and he had put all his

might in his role as a revolutionary. The Japanese army is making a

speedy retreat from the occupied territory and even Subhash is

compelled to leave his followers at the mercy of the advancing British

troops. Darbara knows for certain that once he falls into the hands of

the British, he will be subjected to humiliation and torture. Moreover,

he wants to register his protest against the policy of Subhas who is

leaving behind his trusted volunteers.

His death reminds one, of those medieval Japanese war

heroes who resorted to 'Hara - Kiri' to "escape the humiliation of

falling into an enemy's hand'@"' Such acts of voluntary self destruction

prompted either by the urge to bring into focus the wrongs suffered by

a community or the nation at large or as an extreme measure to set

things right, are to be viewed as totally different &om the act of suicide

committed by depressive maniacs. The tendency to commit suicide

often stems from failures and set backs of life a t an intensely personal

level. The victims of suicide mania come to shut their minds to the

outside world and becomes totally self - centred. Such a rejection of life

has been viewed with disfavour by all the major religions of the world.

But it is curious to note that very often religious sanction and even

encouragement had played a decisive role in the courting of heroic

death. The series of military expeditions made by the Christians of

western Europe during the tenth century to recover the holy land of

Jerusalem from the Muslims, had the sanction and the blessings of the

Popes. It is recorded that the first crusade was inaugurated by Pope.

Urban I1 at the council of Clermont in 190516. The great Indian epics,

the Mallabharata and the Ramayana too extol the martyrdom courted

for a right cause or in the observance of one's own 'dharma'. The

Indian concept of martyrdom has been shaped in accordance with the

Bhavagat Gita, which glorifies death while in the performance of one's

duty.

And do they duty, even if it be humble, rather than

another's even if it be great. To die in one's duty is life:

To live in another's is deathl7.

Salma is shown as courting martyrdom in her heroic

efforts to protect the human rights of the miserable factory workers of

Bombay. Gyan is gunned down in the course of the naval mutiny and

Sen gets k a e d in the attempted assassination of the Prince of Wales.

All these selfless lovers of humanity have willingly courted death in

the hope that others may get a better deal in their lives. George

woodcock, while &scussing the Gandhian concept of heroic death,

observes that death is never sweet, "not even if it is suffered for the

highest ideal. It remains unspeakably bitter, and still it can be the

utmost assertion of our individualityla.

Nahal, like Gandhi, does not subscribe to the logic of

violence, even when it is applied for the realization of a noble cause.

But all the same he wants to pay tribute to the contributions made by

these militants in bringing about the final victory in the long drawn

struggle for independence. In their courage, dedication and willingness

to undergo unremitting suffering, the revolutionaries command our

awe and reverence. The novelist also wants to assert that the

Gandhian way is the only way that can produce results of an enduring

nature. This is demonstrated by Kusum and Vikram, who even after

their short stint in the company of the revolutionaries, return to affirm

the validity of the Gandhian path. "Bapu's way is the only way,"

Kusum declares:

Otherwise the vultures will eat us all ..... The birds of

prey would continue to gather and bury their beaks in

you. They would continue to swoop down and destroy. But

through selfless love they could be beaten out of the sky

.... Go out and touch all in the generosity of your heart, in

pity, in compassion. They might or might not listen. Yet

that is the only way. (The Triumph - 477)

This assertion of the value of non - violence as the only

possible way out to fight back the injustices inflicted by the 'birds of

prey' acquires wider connotation for a novelist who beljeves in the

"affirmation of life in spite of all odds and setbacksWlg.

Notes

Sudhakar Ratnakar Jamkhandi, "Interview with Chaman Nahal" Commonwealth Novel i n English Vol.4,No.l.Spring,

1991.42

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