Diary of a Decade in Agony

by अविनाश धर्माधिकारी

The author who is now a committed, concerned and honest civil servant chronicles his experiences in the 1980s - the violent decade -  when as a student volunteer and later as a journalist, he travelled the length and breadth of India and encountered face to face the multiple political and social tragedies in the making. The book is an Indian panorama with the various people he encountered in his travels coming alive in the pages of the book - from peasants in cyclone hit Andhra Pradesh, to student leaders in Assam, to dissidents in Punjab and Kashmir, Anti-Reservation Movement in Gujarat and and Farmers Movement in Maharashtra and to fundamentalists in Aligarh and Ayodhya. His accounts of interviews with Bhindranwale, with Mohanta, with Farookh Abdullah and with both RSS and Muslims in Aligarh along with scores of other people find chilling echoes in events that have overtaken us since then.

Particularly notable are the author's thoughts and comments and musings of every encounter he describes. This gives the reader a sense of being swept up and involved in the lives of India's millions.

Dairy of a Decade of Agony is a translation of the Marathi original Aswastha Dashakachi Diari which created a stir when it was first published. It won the Sarvotkrushta Vangmaya Puraskar -  given by the Maharashtra State Government in 1989. It has now gone into a third edition.

This book is a must for who is keen on the contemporary Indian socio-political scene.

Genres: Marathi

510 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Vikas Garud · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent read, thought provoking.

[अनिकेत · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started this book in my college on the basis of an extract in our book for study. found interesting, however failed to complete it in time.

[Sahil · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Karyakarta of Bharat Avinashji travelled length and breadth of the bharat dro 1975 to 1985.During his journey he narrates many Breathtaking instances as freelance journalist and as son of bharatmata.He then decides to pursue careear in Civil Services and become IAS officer.

[Gopal Khatokar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Inspirational Book.