Bhagat Singh 1907-31) lived at a time when India’s freedom struggle was beginning to flag and when Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent, passive resistance to partial liberation was beginning to test the patience of the people. In this bestselling book, now published with a modern, contemporary look, Kuldip Nayar takes a close look at the man behind the martyr: his beliefs, his intellectual leanings, his dreams and his despair. The book explains for the first time why Hans Raj Vohra turned approver and betrayed Bhagat Singh, and throws new light on Sukhdev, whose loyalties have been questioned by some historians. But most of all it puts in perspective Bhagat Singh’s use of violence, so strongly condemned by Gandhi and many others as being extremist.