The tendency to rebel when subjected to unreasonable and humiliating pressures is inherent in all sentient beings. But in man it acquires a level of intelligent commitment, making him by far the most daring, the most difficult to subjugate and thus the most dignified of all living beings. Human history is full of such episodes when man has refused to submit to injustice and exploitation and has risen in revolt against impossible odds — and won. This book presents the story of another such revolt by a few freedom-loving men against a regime of tyranny and repression which sought to seal all doors of democratic expression and protest. This is the story of the heroic underground struggle led by George Fernandes against Mrs. Gandhi's government.

The author, who was one of the principal accused in what became famous as the Baroda Dynamite Case, reveals in detail for the first time the successful operation of the underground movement from 25 June 1975 when the Emergency was imposed: the dare-devil tactics of George Fernandes, the author and their other colleagues; their hide and seek with the police; the stupid actions of a frustrated and baffled administration; the use of dynamite and other explosives with the resolve not to endanger life; the international reconnaissance for connections and financial support; the underground national and international information network; their betrayal and arrest, judicial harassment and a cold legal battle — all in a crisp and racy style. The book also incisively brings to light the quiescent role of the then Opposition which was all but ready to surrender through an approach paper, disclosed here for the first time.

C.G.K. Reddy