Uttar Pradesh Ka Swatantrata Sangram : Varanasi

The Varanasi district has been at the forefront of movements since its inception. As a center of learning and renaissance, the city has always led the nations intellectuals. It embraced this challenge during the freedom movement, providing many important leaders and activists. Whether it was Gandhis non-violent movement or the violent revolutionaries movements, Kashi activists dominated the movement. The first disillusionment with British rule emerged in Kashi when Kashiraj Maharaj Chet Singh refused to submit to the coercion of British Governor General Warren Hastings. Eighteen years later, the Diwan of Kashi Raj, Babu Jagat Singh, supported the exiled Nawab of Awadh, Wazir Ali, and was sentenced to Kalapani. The Hindi movement, the spirit of Swadeshi, and the anxiety about the countrys wealth being lost abroad are the fundamental foundations of Bhartendu Harishchandras thinking. He was determined to fight this battle with modern means. His mind and understanding of language were medieval, but his thinking was modern. They symbolized the Indian renaissance of the time, which was entering a new century. The present book is an attempt to understand Kashi and Varanasi from a new perspective.