Emergence of the
Image : Redact Documents of Udham Singh/edited by Navtej Singh
and Avtar Singh Jouhl. New Delhi, National Book Organization, 2002, xx,
521 p., ISBN 81-87521-06-6.
Contents: Introduction. 1.
File Mepo 3/1743. 2. The statements by crown prosecution witnesses. 3.
List of police memo’s reports and letters concerning Udham Singh’s
case. 4. File P & J (S) 466/36 : letters of Udham Singh and about him
following his arrest 13 March 1940. 5. Telegrams and reports concerning
Udham Singh’s case. 6. List of memo’s concerning Udham Singh’s
trial. 7. File PCOM 9/872 : letters of Udham Singh following his arrest 13
March 1940. 8. File no. 144/21444 : debate in the parliament following
Udham Singh’s action. 9. File HO 144/21445 : letters by Udham Singh
following his arrest 13 March 1940. Appendices. Bibliography.
"Documents, apart from other forms of evidence, are
the major basis for the construction of historical account of any specific
space and time. Fortunately for the scholars of modern Indian history
there is abundance of written evidence. But the access to all source
material remains a difficult hurdle due to a number of circumstances. The
political sensitivity remains a major check on the retrieving of
documents. Udham Singh’s case was one such example.
"The Shaheed Udham Singh Welfare Trust, Birmingham
and the Indian Workers’ Association of Great Britain began its campaign
in 1989 for the release of Udham Singh documents in possession of the
British Government. The success in redeeming came during the years
1996-97. Accordingly the British administration permitted to have access
to the five files of the different departments of the state. The evidence
obtained from these files have been selected and edited with utmost care.
"These documents are helpful on two counts: one, that
these provide ample proof for reconstruction of the personality of Udham
Singh, his background, activities in India and abroad, purpose and for the
emergence of a personality different than is usually thought of by the
previous writers and scholars. Two, not only the image of Udham Singh is
reconstructed but the attitude of various individuals, leaders and the
Indian population along with the objective of the British state towards
Indian nationalism and the issue of communalism are quite visible. In
short, these documents are certainly a very valuable evidence that assist
to reconstruct the recent past with clarity and accuracy. In this way,
these add afresh to the historical understanding of the humanity in the
Indian sub-continent." (jacket)
Udham
Singh
Azad
