Contribution of armed revolution in India's freedom struggle not given due recognition: Amit Shah
New Delhi, Jan 11: The fire of patriotism ignited by armed revolution helped the Congress-run freedom movement succeed but these efforts were unfortunately not given due recognition in history books, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday.
Shah was speaking at the launch of "Revolutionaries: The other story of how India won its freedom", a book by Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Economy Advisory Council to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"There are people like me who believe that it was because of the fire of patriotism ignited by the armed revolution that helped the Congress-run freedom movement succeed. I believe this and I can even prove this, that if it weren't for the parallel stream of the armed movement it would have taken a few more decades to attain independence," he said.
"It is unfortunate that these efforts, these contributions of the armed revolution have not been given due credit by historians," he added.
The book tells the stories of freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, V D Savarkar, Aurobindo Ghosh, Rashbehari Bose, Bagha Jatin, Sachindra Nath Sanyal and Subhas Chandra Bose in a collective manner.
Talking about the freedom struggle, Shah said India's independence was the result of efforts put in by a wide number of individuals and organisations.
"If we analyse India's freedom movement, we see a great number of people, a great number of ideologies and organisations were putting in efforts to reach the same destination. It is the result of their collective efforts," the senior BJP leader said.
However, he added, only one type of narrative of nonviolent movement has been "forced through education, history and legends".
"I do not say that non-violent movement had no contribution in India's freedom, or it is not a part of the history. The non-violent movement played a great part, it had major contribution to independence. But it is not correct to say that nobody else had any contribution," Shah said.
He blamed those "who were responsible to tell the history from India's perspective" for having made mistakes.
"Those who were responsible to tell the story of India's freedom struggle from an Indian perspective, I believe they made some mistakes. The British went away but they left behind 'angrejiyat'. And the history was written through those glasses of 'angrejiyat', which ultimately created this entire confusion," Shah said.
He also called upon the younger generation, academicians and historians to "read history more closely and take its true message to the next generations".
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
President Donald Trump to feature on limited edition US passports
Washington (PTI): The State Department is all set to unveil a limited-edition US passport with pictures of President Donald Trump and the Founding Fathers to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence in July.
The special passports will be available only to those who show up in person at the Washington Passport Agency and not anywhere else across the country.
The Department of State shared images of the limited edition passports on its social media accounts.
One page of the passport carries Trump's image surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and the American flag along with the president's signature in gold.
Another page features the famous painting of the founding fathers at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The passports, which are set to be released this summer, are part of the Trump administration’s broader "America250" celebration, which also includes a Grand Prix race on the National Mall in August and a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn in June.
"As the United States celebrates America's 250th anniversary in July, @StateDept is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed US Passports to commemorate this historic occasion,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a post on X.
A State Department official told Fox News Digital that the new designs will be available for "any American citizen" who applies for a passport when the rollout happens and will continue for as long as there is availability.
“These passports will feature customised artwork and enhanced imagery while maintaining the same security features that make the US Passport the most secure documents in the world,” Pigott said in a statement.
In October, the Department of Treasury proposed minting a one dollar coin featuring Trump’s image on it, to mark the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
According to draft images confirmed as real by US Treasurer Brandon Beach, one side of the coin would feature Trump’s profile, along with the words “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “1776-2026.”
The other side of the coin would feature Trump standing with a clenched right fist in front of an American flag and the words “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT” — a reference to his chant after the 2024 assassination attempt at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
