Crimson Spring

Crimson Spring
Book cover
AuthorNavtej Sarna
LanguageEnglish
SubjectJallianwala Bagh massacre
GenreHistorical fiction
PublisherAleph Book Company
Publication date2022
Publication placeIndia
Media typePrint

Crimson Spring is a 2022 historical novel by Indian writer and diplomat Navtej Sarna. It is set around the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 13 April 1919 and its aftermath. The novel is told from the perspectives of nine characters, including British officials, Indian soldiers and revolutionaries. Aleph Book Company published the novel. It was longlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature, and won the author the 2025 Sahitya Akademi Award for English.

Plot

The novel is set in Amritsar around the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Its characters include Lieutenant Governor Michael O'Dwyer, Brigadier General Reginald Dyer, the soldier Kirpal Singh and the revolutionary Udham Singh. The story also deals with the Ghadar movement through the character Sucha Singh, placing the events in Amritsar within the wider history of Punjab and the Indian independence movement.

Sarna has said that he used fictional characters to portray the experiences of people living through the period while keeping the historical events and facts on which the novel is based.

Reception

A review in The Tribune praised the novel for combining its historical account with the grief, trauma and anger experienced by its characters. The review described the massacre through the experiences of ordinary people and discussed the changes taking place in Punjab's political and social life at the time. It also noted the novel's treatment of the Ghadar movement and its place in the Indian independence struggle.

References

  1. ↑ "Former diplomat-author Navtej Sarna's new novel 'Crimson Spring' launched in Delhi". The Times of India. 2022-07-12. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  2. ↑ Salam, Ziya Us (2022-07-08). "Navtej Sarna new book Crimson Spring". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  3. ↑ "Review: Crimson Spring by Navtej Sarna". Hindustan Times. 2022-08-12. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  4. ↑ "Navtej Sarna brings alive the Crimson Spring of 1919". Hindustan Times. 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  5. 1 2 Kapoor, Mini (2022-07-01). "Review of Crimson Spring by Navtej Sarna". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  6. ↑ Staff, Scroll (2022-09-03). "JCB Prize for Literature 2022: Six translations (two from Urdu) feature in the longlist of 10 novels". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  7. ↑ "Navtej Sarna's Crimson Spring, that centres around the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre, is a masterclass in writing". The Indian Express. 2022-09-10. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  8. ↑ Jha, Aditya Mani (2022-07-01). "'Crimson Spring': A powerful reimagining of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre". India Today. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  9. ↑ Tiwari, Shubhangi (2022-08-13). "'Crimson Spring' uses fiction to re-scrutinise the imperial ambitions behind Jallianwala Bagh". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  10. ↑ "Navtej Sarna's 'Crimson Spring': After-effects of Jallianwala Bagh". The Tribune. 2022-06-26. Retrieved 2026-08-13.