The freedom fighters in India's long struggle for independence

"The freedom fighters in India's long struggle for independence from British rule, or members of the African National Congress, were once classed as terrorists. History, as they say, is written by victors, but history also has many cunning corridors—how much time must elapse before all those tricky side-passages are revealed?" – Neel Mukherjee

Hear these words, O seekers of wisdom, for Neel Mukherjee, the writer of truth and conscience, speaks not only of history, but of the shifting tides of justice and perception. His voice reminds us that what is called rebellion today may be hailed as freedom tomorrow, and that what one age condemns, another sanctifies. In his reflection, he reveals the paradox of human judgment — that history, though it claims to be truth, often walks only the path that victors pave for it. Yet, as he reminds us, history is not a straight road, but a labyrinth of “cunning corridors,” where hidden stories wait to be rediscovered by those who have the courage to seek them.

The meaning of his words lies in this tension between power and truth. Mukherjee invokes the freedom fighters of India and the African National Congress, whose members were once branded as terrorists by those they resisted. Their only crime was to demand liberty — to defy an empire that had forgotten justice. What does this reveal? That moral judgment, when wielded by power, often distorts reality. The oppressor calls rebellion “chaos,” but the oppressed know it as the first breath of dignity. Thus, Mukherjee urges us to look beyond the stories that are written for us, to question the official chronicles that claim to define good and evil.

The origin of this reflection springs from the long arc of colonial history. In India, leaders like Bhagat Singh, Subhas Chandra Bose, and countless unnamed men and women rose against British rule. They were hunted, imprisoned, and hanged as criminals. Yet, within a few decades, their names were carved in marble as heroes of independence. Similarly, in South Africa, Nelson Mandela and his comrades in the ANC were branded as traitors and terrorists by the apartheid regime. Mandela spent 27 years in a cell for daring to dream of equality. And yet, when the wheel of history turned, that same man emerged to lead his nation and to preach forgiveness. What was once vilified became venerated — proof that the truth of a generation often lies buried beneath its politics.

Mukherjee’s phrase “history is written by victors” is an ancient truth, echoed through the centuries. The Romans erased the voices of the conquered; the Inquisition silenced the heretic; and in every age, the powerful have sought to make their story the only story. But he adds another insight — that history’s corridors are “cunning”, winding and secretive. Though victors may build walls of silence, time itself is the great dismantler. As the years pass, hidden testimonies emerge, forgotten letters are found, and the voices once crushed beneath the boots of empire rise again. The cunning corridors of history, though dark and twisting, always lead toward revelation — if one dares to walk them with open eyes.

Consider the story of Galileo Galilei, who was condemned by the Church for speaking the truth of the stars. In his time, he was called a heretic, a danger to order. Centuries later, he is hailed as the father of modern science. So it is with all who challenge the powers of their age — they are reviled in the moment but revered in posterity. The lesson of Mukherjee’s words is not only to question history but to revere those who stand alone in their truth, even when the world calls them mad or criminal. For it is often the persecuted who carry the torch that will one day light the path for all.

And yet, his tone is not bitter but wise. He does not call for vengeance upon the victors, but for vigilance among the living. He reminds us that the stories of the world are not finished — that even now, as we sit in comfort, there are truths being buried, voices being silenced, and names being twisted. What is condemned today may one day be vindicated. What is glorified now may one day be exposed. Thus, he warns us to tread carefully in judgment, to remain humble before the enormity of time’s unveiling.

So let this be the lesson: be seekers of truth, not keepers of convenience. Question the stories handed down by power, and listen for the whispers in history’s hidden corridors. Remember that every age has its “terrorists,” its “traitors,” and its “heretics” — yet many of them will become the heroes of tomorrow. As Mukherjee reminds us, time is the final historian, and truth, though delayed, is never destroyed. Therefore, let us walk not by the light of victory, but by the flame of understanding, ever mindful that the past, like the soul, reveals its depths only to those who dare to look beyond the surface.