There are moments when the world outside begins to speak in the same language as a life spent observing, questioning and reflecting. For nearly three decades, I have been part of the Indian National Congress, watching Indian politics from the grassroots and trying to understand the deeper ideological forces shaping our country. My journey has never been that of a mere spectator. It has been a long engagement with history, political conviction and the idea of India. 𝗠𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 crossed from what became Pakistan into India during Partition, carrying little of material value but bearing the weight of a life they had left behind. Their experience taught me something about resistance long before I had the words to describe it: 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠. That inheritance has stayed with me. Over the years, it has shaped my understanding of politics, my commitment to the Congress and, ultimately, the ideas I have sought to put into writing. Recently, Rahul Gandhi spoke about accepting criticism with a smile, invoking the Shaiva tradition of Neelkanth—Shiva, who drank the poison to protect the world. Around the same time, Gurdeep Singh Sappal wrote in The Wire about Rahul Gandhi and the battle for India’s ideological soul, reflecting on the moral and ideological resilience of a leader who has endured extraordinary political pressure. Reading these reflections, I felt a profound connection with the questions I have spent years exploring. I had given my book a title that expressed those very concerns: 𝑅𝑜𝑜𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝐵𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑎’𝑠 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑙. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁, 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝟯𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲. This book is deeply personal to me. It brings together my political experience, my family’s history and my reflections on the forces that shape our democracy. It is my attempt to document why resistance matters—not merely as opposition to power, but as a commitment to constitutional values, historical memory and the soul of our republic. I do not see this book as the conclusion of a journey. I see it as a contribution to a conversation that India must continue to have with itself. 𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑠. 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗹. #RootsOfResistance #IdeologicalBattleForIndiasSoul #IndianNationalCongress #RahulGandhi #GurdeepSappal

It was a pleasure reconnecting with my dear friend, Adv. Jitendra Baghel, after a long time and presenting him with a copy of my book, Roots of Resistance. Jitendra is the Secretary of the AICC,(In-charge of Haryana) former Secretary of AIUWCI, and former General Secretary of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC). Always wonderful to catch up with old friends and exchange thoughts on politics, public life, and the road ahead. @JitendraBaghel_