Bengal in the Times of Gandhi Land

Set in undivided Bengal, this novel re-examines land, power, and freedom from the perspective of those history often forgets

- By DEEPA KANDASWAMY

Set in undivided Bengal, The Struggle shifts the lens of history away from political leaders and toward peasants, widows and landless labourers. It is not concerned with speeches or slogans, but with survival, land rights and dignity. More than seven decades after Independence, its concerns remain unsettlingly relevant.

Who were sharecroppers, and why did owning two bullocks matter so deeply in Bengal? Who benefited from marrying a widow? Why were women blamed when couples had no children? Why did peasants show little enthusiasm for the freedom struggle? How did communism enter India, and why did it find such firm roots in Bengal? Was Partition truly about religion, or was it also driven by greed for land and power? These are the uncomfortable questions the novel raises—and refuses to answer simplistically.