About the book
In 1954, in the small town of Silvassa, wind blows through desolate streets. Doors are bolted for the first time, windows shuttered. The town is silent, except for the soft, persistent patter of August rain. The only movement is that of a group of outsiders, gathering stealthily around the barricaded Silvassa police post, their faces grim. A man raises his hand to signal the others—it is time.
Uprising chronicles a remarkable, yet overlooked chapter of Indian independence. A few years after the country was formally independent, ordinary Indian civilians rose up against the colonial stragglers entrenched in the villages of Dadra and Nagar Haveli—the Portuguese. With Nehru’s characteristic refusal to test nascent diplomatic bonds, it’s a few brave men and women who take matters into their own hands. It isn’t easy—the Portuguese are armed to the teeth, outnumber them heavily and have no patience for Gandhian strategies of peaceful resistance.
But for the people who put their lives on hold to become part of this extraordinary struggle, it’s not about what’s easy or hard. It’s about doing what’s right. And in this case, that means ousting the foreigners lingering in their land—outsiders who continue to extort hapless locals, and are untouchable despite imposing punishing oppression.
Through interviews with descendants of the participants (and a handful of participants themselves), newspaper archival records, letters and diary entries, Neelesh Kulkarni painstakingly puts together the pieces of this little-known story. A story of the solidarity, resilience and fearlessness; a testament of people who defy tyranny—and make history in the process.
About the Author
Neelesh Kulkarni is a management graduate, an entrepreneur, poet, theatre actor, voiceover artist, public speaking and creative writing coach. He has also been a cricket commentator.
He is the author of the non-fiction work, In the Footsteps of Rama (HarperCollins India) which has been adapted into a web series and has been translated into two languages so far, with four more in progress. His essay, ‘xxx’ has been anthologised in Where the Gods Dwell: Thirteen Temples and their (hi)stories (Westland). He has also written a book for children, Open Sesame: Magic Tricks for Kids (Westland).
He lives in Delhi with his artist wife.
About the Author
Manoranjan Byapari writes in Bengali. Some of his important works include Chhera Chhera Jibon, Ittibrite Chandal Jibon and the Chandal Jibon trilogy. He taught himself to read and write at the age of twenty-four when he was in prison. He has worked as a rickshaw-puller, a sweeper and a porter. Until 2018, he was working as a cook at the Hellen Keller Institute for the Deaf and Blind in West Bengal.
In 2018, the English translation of his memoir, Ittibrite Chandal Jibon (Interrogating My Chandal Life), received the Hindu Prize for non-fiction. In 2019, he was awarded the Gateway Lit Fest Writer of the Year Prize. Also, the English translation of his novel Batashe Baruder Gandha (There’s Gunpowder in the Air) was shortlisted for the JCB Prize 2019, the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2019, the Crossword Prize 2019 and the Mathrubhumi Book of the Year Prize 2020. The English translation of his novel Chhera Chhera Jibon (Imaan) was shortlisted for the JCB Prize 2022. He also received the Shakti Bhatt Prize this year for his body of work. In 2021, Byapari became a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly.
About the Translator
V. Ramaswamy is a literary translator of voices from the margins. His previous translations include The Golden Gandhi Statue from America: Early Stories, Wild Animals Prohibited: Stories, Anti-stories and This Could Have Become Ramayan Chamar’s Tale: Two Anti-Novels (shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award, 2019), all by the anti-establishment Bengali writer, Subimal Misra. He was awarded the inaugural Literature Across Frontiers-Charles Wallace India Trust Fellowship at Aberystwyth University to translate the Chandal Jibon novels.
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