Uprising

<p><strong style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>About the Book</strong></p><p><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>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.</em></p><p><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Uprising</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)> chronicles a remarkable yet often overlooked chapter of Indian history. A few years after the country became independent ordinary civilians rose up against the extortionist and cruel colonial stragglers entrenched in the villages of Dadra and Nagar Haveli-the Portuguese. With the new Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru unwilling to strain nascent diplomatic bonds it was up to a few brave men and women to take matters into their own hands. The odds were not good: the Portuguese were armed to the teeth and outnumbered them heavily. It was an extraordinary coalition that took them on: Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi helped raise funds through a concert; volunteers from the Azad Gomantak Dal the RSS and radical communists collaborated with the local tribal population to launch attacks in Silvassa Naroli Pipariya Khanvel and other places in an effort to drive the Portuguese out once and for all.</span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>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 history. An electrifying story emerges-the solidarity resilience and fearlessness of a people who defy tyranny and make history in the process.</span></p><p></p><p><strong style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>About the Author</strong></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Neelesh Kulkarni is a management graduate an entrepreneur poet theatre actor voiceover artist and a coach in public speaking and creative writing. He has also been a cricket commentator.</span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>He is the author of the non-fiction work </span><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>In the Footsteps of Rama</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)> (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 'Vithoba of Pandharpur' has been anthologised in </span><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Where the Gods Dwell: Thirteen Temples and their (hi)stories</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)> (Westland). He has also written a book for children </span><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Open Sesame: Magic Tricks for Kids</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)> (Westland).</span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>He lives in Delhi with his artist wife.</span></p>