"Until the lions have their historians, the history of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter."
If Indians are courageous, why were they kept in slavery for 1000 years? Why were their temples demolished one by one? Why any gang of goons like Mehmood Gazni easily comes from khyber pass and bombard our city and holy land? Why did not any single Indian king make an apparent defeat of Khilji, Tuglaq, Mughals, or any invader of their Holy Land? Why?
Whenever I think about my Ancestor's so-called historical glory and Courage, I feel deeply that Invaders always have the upper hand over my Ancestors. Even my History syllabus teaches about the recognition of Islamic Rulers in India from the slavery dynasty to the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Jafar. And I always think that where we had been?
In the Warm summer of 2016, the same question was asked by Mr. Sanjeev Sanyal to one of my favorite authors Vikram Sampat. His answer to Sanyal was "That Book." I'm going to review it.
By reading the below points, you can understand the context of that Book. so let's move on,
Initial Impressions of the Book
The Bravehearts of Bharat is a collection of 15 Unsung stories of the Undefedable Indian warriors who fought against the invaders and expanded their empire beyond the borders of countries between 712 AD to 1857 AD, or we can see the era of Medivel and pre-modern History. Most of the part of the story defines the military power of Indian Rulers.
The stories have been chosen and come from all over the nation. For example, the first narrative is about Lalitadiya Muktapida (Alexzendor of India), which defines the Kashmir Kingdom's victory over all Indian Subcontinent. The last one is Begam Hazrat Mahal (Queen who fought in the First war of Independence 1857) from Lucknow. Each story from that Book tells the Courage of different states in India, which is why the book "Bravehearts of India" fits.
Why is Vikram Sampat the most fitting choice to write that Book
Have you ever searched on google about "Top Selling Historical Books in India"? You can easily find the name Vikram Sampat in top searches. Vikram Sampat became famous among most history lovers in 2019 when he released his most remarkable Book about Veer Savarkar, which made India's Top selling books in a significantly shorter time. Regarding the topic, Vikram Sampat is the most fitting choice to write any Historical Book: of his Research and Neutrality.
Read my Book Review of P Sainath's The Last Heroes: Footsoldiers of Indian Freedom. You can find quite the same book context, which also literature which describes the story of Brave Indian Freedom fighters from different regions. But as a left-wing author, Respected Sainath Did not stop himself from pushing an open Communist agenda in the Book.
The Story of Bravehearts is not literature of the past 100 years. Even its newest story is 170 years old. Documenting the ancient era requires a lot of Research with patience. And also, when you are writing the story of India, that's necessary to be neutral among different ideologies. And that the two things Vikram Sampat have.
Analysis of Bravehearts of Bharat: Vignettes from Indian History
Undoubtedly, most of the domain from each account represents the military capabilities of different Indian rulers, but that is not limited only to that. Vikram Sampat shows another side of each personality, Like his Administration, Diviness, and personal behavior. But Selection is majorly focused on their daringness to fight against invaders or save the country.
There is an exception in 2 stories; the first one is Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore (Chapter 12), another is Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Jai Singh of Manipur (Chapter 13).
Ahilyabai's report highlights her administrative skills more than that of the Military when Jai Singh's about his Diviness towards Lord Krishna and the tail to become "Raja(King) & Rishi(Devotee) or "Rajrishi" at the same time.
Reading that Book, I found the introduction most exciting and informative. Vikram Sampat did not directly jump into the personality and start telling their story besides telling an account from the foundation of their kingdom, the Data of their parents, and report to succession the throne. After that, he comes to the story of the personality. While Reading that Book, you will learn about these 15 personalities and the foundation of several empires from different parts of India. You can pick every story so quickly.
Three lessons from that Book
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was role model of Ahoms
Chapter 8, Page No. 158,
Maratha strongman later became Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, whose success against the Mughals around this time- between 1663 and 1665 CE- attracted the Ahoms the most and gave them a sense of hope for their fortunes.
Sikhism's Dedication to the Guru
When Wazir Khan Prisoned 700 Brave Sikhs along with Banda Singh Bahadur and took them for execution.
Chapter 10, Page No. 219 & 220
A Poignant tale during this time was of a young Sikh prisoner who recently married. His old, widowed mother intercedes for his pardon through Wazir's diwan, Ram Chand. The older woman told the story that her son was not of the rebel group, so he should be released.
The Emperor considered the case favorably, and he was pardoned. When the older woman joyously accosted her son with the release letter, handing it over to the kotwal who stood over him with a sword, the son threw the letter away. He screamed out, saying,
"I did not know who this woman is. she is lying. I am a true and devoted follower of my Guru, and send me to my companions quickly."
Immerse yourself in social service so profoundly that your sorrows fade away.
Chapter 12, Page No. 262
Unfortunately, Ahilya Bai's personal life was a source of great grief for her. she was married off to a carefree, pleasure-loving man who died early, leaving her widowed and having a mentally ill son imbalanced and too died early.
Despite having these types of strategic life, she left no stone unturned to care for his people; she was the precedent of Public administration. She developed public transport, wells, and trees on the roads and reconstructed various temples, even those not in her territory.
That's Why People called her "Maa Saheb (The Mother)."
The audience I would recommend this book to
To read that Book, you need to have some basic understanding of Chronological incidents in Indian History. I did not recommend that Book to beginners or the ones who often read historical stories. That Book is an in-depth version of Indian History; however, if you are too curious about learning History, even then, you know intermediate Standard History.
The student who is undergoing their graduation or completing an Arts background, I would like to recommend that Book. Intermediate-level students also learn that Book under some guidance of their mentors.
Despite having stiff content, every Indian must read that Book. I want to suggest to every parent reading that article that they should teach their children about these 15 stories because, as I told in the introduction, "History of Hunting always glorify the hunter." it's your duty to teach your children about his glorious Heritage that our Ancestor gave us.
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