Arun Bala

Mahadeva, the founding secretary-general of the Singapore National Union of Journalists (SNUJ), suddenly found himself in the news when he was arrested in 1963 under Operation Coldstore. This is his story, told posthumously by one of his brothers, who delved into the rich collection of Maha’s documents and publications he kept over the years.


Imprisoned without trial as a security threat with more than a hundred other political and union leaders, he had no recourse but to subject himself to six years of unjustified detention.


These memoirs not only chart Mahadeva’s life and beliefs, but also question the orthodox Singapore Story that now conveniently frames and justifies his and his cohort’s imprisonment without trial – some for as long as nearly two to three decades.

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