Unsung Women Freedom Fighters of India

 

Beginning with the uprising of 1857, the journey of India’s freedom struggle was painstaking and also a long one. After struggling for almost a century (1857 to 1947) we, the Indians got our freedom back. The freedom struggle of India is filled with tales of thousands of men and women warriors, some famous and some unsung, who fought till their last breath. The Indian Independence movement was certainly a new chapter not only in the history of the nation but of women empowerment too. The women crossed the proverbial lakshman rekha to join the men in the national movements.

While names like Shivaji Maharaj, Bajirao, Maharana Pratap, Rana Sanga, Prithviraj Chauhan and others have been given their rightful place, the unsung women warriors have been denied the same for the longest time.

Here we pay a tribute to these fearless women warriors who deserve to be recognized for their role in the freedom struggle:

1. Matangini Hazra

              

 

Matangini Hazra a great revolutionary and an extraordinary woman was known as ‘Gandhi Buri’, Bengali for ‘an old lady Gandhi’. Although she was arrested for her role in the freedom struggle, she was not deterred. Her involvement with the freedom struggle intensified during Civil Disobedience Movement and Quit India Movement in 1942.  During one procession, where she led 6000 women, she continued to lead with the Indian flag even after being shot thrice. She kept shouting "Vande Mataram” till she collapsed and died.

2. Aruna Asaf Ali

                

She was born Aruna Ganguly on 16^th July 1909, but married a much older Asaf Ali a muslim and a prominent member of INC. She is popularly known as ‘The Grand Old Lady’ of the Independence Movement. She actively participated in the Salt Satyagraha in 1930 and it was the first time she was arrested. In 1932 she was again arrested for participating in the Freedom Movement. In 1942 when all the major leaders were arrested as a measure against Quit India Movement, she gave the much needed push to the movement by hoisting the Indian National Congress flag at the Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay.

3. Bhikaiji Cama

One of the prominent figures in the Indian Nationalist Movement, she was born as Bhikaiji Rustom Cama on 24th September 1861 to a Parsi family in Bombay (now Mumbai). Well, we are talking about none other than Madam Cama, who is a well - known freedom fighter. She emphasised on equality between men and women. She gave away all her assets to help out an orphanage for young girls. On August 22, 1907, Madam Bhikaji Cama became the first person to hoist the Indian flag called the ‘Flag of Indian Independence’.

Madame Cama is known as the 'Mother of Indian Revolution'.

4. Tara Rani Srivastava

            

One such forgotten female whose contribution has been neglected was Mrs. Tara Rani Srivastava. Born into a simple family in the district of Saran, Bihar, she was passionate about the independence struggle from quiet a young age. Her marriage at the early age of 13 to a freedom fighter Phulendu Babu did not deter her patriotic sentiments. Her husband was an active participant in Mahatma Gandhi`s Quit India Movement, 1942, hence she too joined him in the movement. She lost her husband when the police fired on him while leading a procession against the British, but she continued to support the freedom struggle.

Tara Rani Srivastava emerged as motivation for the women belonging to the rural backgrounds and inspired them to participate in the Quit India movement.  

5. Moolmati

Moolmati was a simple woman, supported and helped her son in his struggle for freedom. Nobody knows her by her name but she played an important role in the freedom struggle as the mother of Ram Prasad Bismil. Ram Prasad was a revolutionary involved in the famous Mainpuri Conspiracy case of 1918 and the Kakori Conspiracy of 1925. In Gorakhpur Jail on 19 Dec 1927, he was arrested and hanged.

She supported her son’s revolutionary ideas. Without her unstinting support and belief in the freedom struggle, Ram Prasad Bismil might not have had the resolve to pursue the path he had chosen. Soon after her elder son’s death, she addressed a public gathering and offered her other son to the freedom movement.

6. Lakshmi Sahgal

Have you heard of Lakshmi Sehgal (born Lakshmi Swaminathan) (24 October 1914 – 23 July 2012)? She was a revolutionary of the Indian independence movement, an officer of the Indian National Army, and the Minister of Women's Affairs in the Azad Hind government, who as a young doctor also led the Rani of Jhansi regiment, one of the first women contingents of the world. She picked up a Gun for Indian National Army (INA) founded by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and was in charge of establishing and leading the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, comprising women soldiers with Bose’s help.

The initiative received a huge response from women and Sehgal became the captain of the regiment. To date, she is referred to as “Captain Lakshmi”, an identity that always remained with her.

7. Uda Devi

Uda Devi was a Dalit resistance warrior in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, who fought against the British East India Company. Uda Devi took part in the Battle in Sikandar Bagh, Lucknow in November 1857. While thousands of Indian soldiers were killed under the orders of Colin Campbell, she climbed and hid atop a pipal tree as a sharpshooter, armed with a pair of heavy old pattern cavalry pistols and fired at the Britishers. He ordered his men to fire at the tree. Only at the end of it battle did they discover it was a woman who was the undercover rebel. With her pouch full of ammunition and old pistols, she had successfully killed more than 6 men from the perch of the tree. That’s why the brave woman warrior’s statue still stands erect in the square outside Sikandar Bagh, Lucknow.

8. Kittur Rani Chennamma

She was the queen of the princely state Kittur in Karnataka but yet to gain recognition across the country for her efforts during the Independence struggle. The kingdom of Kittur came under the British empire, under the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’. But Kittur Chennamma rebelled against the Britishers. She bravely led an Army rebellion at the age of 33 in 1824. She was later captured and imprisoned. The resistance ended in her giving up her life for the nation. Her valour proves to be an inspiration to women even today.

9. Begum Hazrat Mahal

                  

Born as Muhammadi Khanum, she got married to Nawab Wajid Ali of Awadh. She got the title of ‘Hazrat Mahal’ after the birth of their son, Birjis Kader.

Under the Revolt of 1857, popularly termed the first war of Independence, Begum Hazrat Mahal became a key figure in organizing the uprising against the British in Awadh region and declared war against the British East India Company. Her military and administrative ability came to the fore during those testing times. It is said that in no time the rebellion spread to all parts of the Awadh… it turned into a people’s uprising.

 

Friends, India got independence not only because of a few famous freedom fighters, but thousands of other unknown and unsung men and women. While we always remember the most popular ones, we tend to forget the ones who sacrificed their lives for the Independence Movement, in anonymity.

So, I wish is to bring in front of you these forgotten and unsung women freedom fighters who played an important role in our freedom struggle. They are in oblivion but are certainly an inspiration to us.

Let us all pay a tribute to these fearless women warriors who deserve to be recognized for their role in the freedom struggle.

Inputs and pics courtesy Google,thebetterindia.com,my gov,Dalitdreams

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