Spies, Lies and Allies: The Extraordinary Lives of Chatto and Roy

While India's freedom struggle is often remembered for its nonviolent approach, remarkable individuals like Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Sukhdev, and Rajguru actively pursued revolutionary methods, conducting rebellious activities within India. Meanwhile, others ventured abroad, forging alliances, securing funds and weapons for Indian revolutionaries, assassinating British officials in London, conspiring against colonial authorities, and establishing organisations, parties, and committees, often while navigating complex love lives. Two such remarkable figures are Virendranath Chattopadhyay, alias Chatto, and M.N. Roy. In this episode, Kavitha Rao chronicles the extraordinary journeys of these two individuals. ReferencesKavitha Rao: Website, X, InstagramBooks: Spies, Lies and Allies: The Extraordinary Lives of Chatto and Roy, Lady Doctors: The Untold Stories of India’s First Women in Medicine, The LibrarianDaughter of the Earth: A Novel by Agnes SmedleyGiulia Lazzari by Somerset MaughamThe Multiple Careers of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay: In conversation with Nico Slate- Episode 7 of Navigating India Transnational resistance and fictive truths: Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, Agnes Smedley and the Indian nationalist movement by Purnima BoseA Glimpse of My Life: Autobiography of the Indian Revolutionary Ram Prasad Bismil, translated from the Hindi by Awadhesh TripathiWhy have Indian historians failed to combat ‘WhatsApp history’? By Shoaib DaniyalRamachandra Guha, Peter Frankopan, William Dalrymple, Manu S Pillai, Srikar Raghavan, Ira Mukhoty, Rollo Romig, Sam DalrympleRama Bhima Soma: Cultural Investigations into Modern Karnataka: In Conversation with Srikar Raghavan- Episode 10 of Navigating IndiaNew India FoundationA Journalist’s Murder and the Rise of Autocracy in India: In conversation with Rollo Romig- Episode 11 of Navigating IndiaGender bias in men’s reading habits still exists by Claire Shanahan: “This research confirms that while women read books by women and men equally, men overwhelmingly reject books written by women in favour of male authors”