Recollection, Remembrance, History

Savitry Dubey’s They Remained Unknown is a fascinating biographical memoir of a rural family from the Mithilanchal region of Bihar that tells us the history of the freedom movement and their contribution to building nationalist consciousness in the region. The narrative comes to us as intimate recollections of Dubey’s mother, eighty-six year old Kaushalya Devi, who narrates the story of her own life and her family members, those unsung heroes of the Independence movement who participated in the freedom struggle. Born in 1912, Kaushalya Devi lived through the tumultuous years and is a ‘living and talking history book’ having witnessed the ‘seminal events of that era’. What comes to light are the stories of dedication, sacrifice, bravery, and satyagraha of the common people who in their quiet way sowed the seeds of the freedom struggle in the Mithilanchal region and helped to make it a mass movement.