ON THE BANKS OF RIVER SUTLEJ

I was born in Nangal Township, which was described as a 'place of pilgrimage' for modern India by none other than Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India. The year was 1956 and India was still recovering from the aftermath of bloody partition of the country in the year 1947. A poverty ridden and resource poor country had been further impoverished by destruction of agriculture, industry, businesses, and households. Pandit Nehru, had set in motion the process of nation rebuilding and construction of Bhakra Dam, a hydroelectric project over Sutlej river was centerpiece of this marathon effort. As a young child I witnessed the turbulent journey of an incipient nation. The book is a collection of memoirs of my childhood spent on the banks of Sutlej river. It chronicles the events of 1960s that shaped the destiny of second most populous country and largest democracy of world.