A Passage Through India- Nineteen Episodic Essays

IN THE RECONSTRUCTION and narration of history, undue emphasis has been given to the documentation of wars and political events. While these historical facts and figures give us a rudimentary understanding of the past, we must delve deep into culture and society - examining the circumstances under which a certain incident occurred, the motivation of the primary characters in the drama, and the aftermath of the said incident on the future - if we wish to obtain a holistic understanding. The objective of this anthology of essays is to offer this sort of panoramic overview of Indian history over the past few centuries.
A Passage Through India is an English translation of two anthologies of essays by Nadoja Dr. S R Ramaswamy, a multifaceted scholar and writer par excellence - RITA Jane (Some Critical Junctures in History') (2010) and (Some Never-to-be-forgotten Chapters of History') (2020). The former essays have been translated by Prof. Vedavyas M G and the latter ones have been translated by Sri Paresh Nadig. For ease of reading, the author has chronologically reordered the essays in this edition.
A thorough review of the translation has been undertaken by Sri S Somashekhara Sharma and by Sri Hari Ravikumar, who also designed the book. The original essays were dictated by the author and written down by Sri Anil Kumar Molahalli.
We wish to express our heartfelt thanks to all of them for their service to the nation.

'Nadoja' Dr. S R RAMASWAMY is a renowned littérateur, journalist, art critic, environmentalist, and social activist. He has written more than sixty books and over two thousand essays on literary, cultural, developmental, and nationalist themes. Since 1979, he has been the Editor-in-Chief of Rashtrotthana Sahitya publications and of the Kannada monthly 'Utthana.' He is the recipient of several awards including Nadoja' from Hampi University, honorary D. LITT.' from the Karnataka State Open University, and Karnataka Rajyotsava Award' for outstanding contri bution to literature and journalism.
An anthology of nineteen analytical essays on the history of preindependent India. A Passage Through India is both riveting and revealing. Written in an eminently readable style, these narrative and interpretative pieces have at their root a mix of rigorous research spanning decades and insightful observations based on varied experiences in public life. The learned author examines the cultural-social-political-economic life of India in the two centuries leading up to 1947 and gives us a true account of the history of that era. To cut through the dangerous web of lies and deceit woven by the spin doctors of mainstream discourse. a work such as this serves as an invaluable rapier.
These episodic essays on some turning-points in recent times, originally written in Kannada, have been ably translated into lucid English by Prof. Vedavyas M G and Paresh Nadig, with the fervent hope that they attain a wider readership, particularly among the youth of India.

THERE IS AN ancient Sanskrit prayer (‘May I fall into worthy hands'). I can do little more than humbly repeating that supplication.
The essays in this collection were written at various times during the last score of years. Some essays were triggered by occasions - like the sesquicentennial of the 1857 War, centenaries of the swadeshi movement (1905-10), the First World War (1914-18), Jallianwala Bagh massacre (1919), etc.
History has for long remained beyond the reach of laymen because of the form in which it has been customary to disseminate it. There is need to make history reader-friendly without compromising on rigour. The mental impact of even cataclysmic happenings like World Wars tends to lose its edge over time. In addition, fresh research often throws up new details and more tenable interpretations. There is, in any case, the need to make the present generation better informed about events that changed the course of history. A Passage Through India is a collection of narrative and interpretative essays on some turning-points in recent times.
I owe a deep debt of gratitude to the translators - Prof. M G Vedavyas and Sri Paresh Nadig who have invested enormous effort in producing a highly readable and meticulous version in English. Rendering into English complex writings conceived in the vernacular with their own ethos presents special challenges. The translators have succeeded in this daunting task in a commendable measure and deserve praise.
I have no words to express my thanks to Sri S Somashekhara Sharma and Sri Hari Ravikumar for editing the manuscript thoroughly. Hari has planned, co-ordinated, and fine-tuned the English version in addition to designing the publication.