Scholar-Journalist of the Week: Learnings from India’s Women Freedom Fighters

For Piyush Sharma, a B Tech student with Apeejay Institute of Management and Engineering Technical Campus (AIMETC), Jalandhar, independence is both a freedom and responsibility. “It is being a self-reliant individual, society, country with concerns of consequences behind every action,” he added. Recently, Piyush wrote an article on ‘Learnings from India’s Women Freedom Fighters’ in which he elaborated the role these women played for India’s independence from the British Raj. Hailing from the beautiful hills of Himachal Pradesh, the Apeejay student’s area of interest includes exploring new ideas on technology, space and understanding various aspects of Philosophy. In this interview, he shares his writing journey, learnings and more:

What inspires you to write articles? What kind of articles do you like to read?

Since childhood, I have been fond of reading chapters from English and Hindi Literature. I think what inspires me is the self-talk I do while writing – I just think that I am giving a speech to a crowd and motivating them to connect with my thoughts. Articles with new ideas and unexplored dimensions really excites me. I also read articles on philosophy, space and history.

Any latest book you are reading?

Currently, I am reading ‘The Wonder that is Sanskrit’ which provides a wonderful insight into the formation of Sanskrit alphabets and the logic in which one of the oldest languages was written.

Who is your favourite author? What’s your favourite book?  

There is no particular genre. But, I am inclined towards modern Hindi Literature mostly that of Premchand. One of the examples from modern art that fascinated me was ’12^th Fail‘ by Anurag Pathak. Others that precede the list are stories like ‘Do Bailon Ki Katha’, ‘Namak Ka Daroga’ which are very relatable to Indian routine. 

I have not been a bibliophile since forever, but a book which piqued my curiosity is that of Stephen Hawking ‘A Brief History of Time’ – the way that book ingrained with the most high-level physics concept in such a spoon feeding words, that even a school student can understand it. This is something I want to do someday.

The other book that comes in my bucket list is Ved Vyass Ji’s original ‘Mahabharat’, the great story with proper character building covering all the aspects of human emotions.

Why did you decide to write an article on ‘Learnings from India’s women freedom fighters?’

To be honest, it was a mere coincidence that just a few months ago I had read the

online version of a comic by Amar Chitra Katha titled ‘Incredible Women of India’, which narrates about the great stories of sacrifices by women of India. And honestly, I didn’t even know more than three names from that comic. Then I was inspired to write on this topic. I have also mentioned in my article about all these women fighters. I was surprised that our history books didn’t mention these names and thus, we were not completely aware.  How are we supposed to create inspiration for our students, specifically girls?

Share your personal learnings from India’s women freedom fighters?

Just because of this article my friends also came to know about the great sacrifices by these brave women. They inspired me to write more on trending topics to create more awareness among the masses. Our society needs to feed upon the truth!

Tips to write a compelling article

I might not have the best tips as that of a professional writer, but the value I find important to write is that: From all the stories that I read from my books, have heard from my elders and watched on screens, the ones those have settled in my mind are the stories which made an emotional connection with me. Holistic character building is also something I look for.

In your writing journey, what are the lessons you have learnt so far?

One of the lessons I have learnt so far is that at an emotional level most of the humans are one; it doesn’t matter from where you come, if you are successful in making an emotional connection with the masses. It will be remembered for hundreds of years like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Troy, Harry Potter and many more.

What is your future plan?

Just like other students, I too have a wide spectrum of interests. But if I get a chance, I will definitely consider writing as one of my professions.