Indian Women Freedom Fighters

Women shouldered critical responsibilities in India’s struggle for freedom. They held public meetings, organized picketing of shops selling foreign alcohol and articles, sold Khadi and actively participated in National Movements. They bravely faced the baton of the police and went behind the iron bars. Hundreds and thousands of Indian women dedicated their lives for obtaining freedom of their motherland. Women have a special place of pride and honour in the Indian Society. Their role in nation building is also well recognized. Like men they too have excelled in every walk of life. If we turn the pages of History we come across great women rulers, queen warriors, women leaders, women Freedom Fighters, women saints, scholars, writers, social workers and what have you? The country remembers them and honours them and brings out commemorative postage stamps in their fond memory even after they are gone.

Mahatma Gandhi squarely summed up the strength of womanhood in his tribute to the gender:“To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man’s injustice to women. If by strength is meant moral power then woman is immeasurably man’s superior. Has she not greater intuition, is she not more self sacrificing, has she not greater power of endurance, has she not greater courage? Without her man would not be. If non-violence is the law of our being, the future is woman. I have nursed this thought now for years”.

The list of great women whose names have gone down in history for their dedication and undying devotion to the service of India is a long one. Here are just few of them whose patriotism will be  in the hearts of the million of Indians forever.

1.Kittur Rani Chennamma (1778-1829)

Kitturu Rani Chennamma was the queen of the princely state of Kittur in Karnataka. In 1824, 33 years before the 1857 war of independence, she led an armed rebellion against the British in response to the Doctrine of lapse. The resistance ended in her martyrdom and she is remembered today as one of the earliest Indian rulers to have fought for independence. Along with Abbakka Rani, Keladi Chennamma and Onake Obavva she is much venerated in Karnataka as an icon of bravery and women’s pride.

2.Rani of Jhansi(1828-1858)

Rani Lakshmibai was one of the leading warriors of India’s freedom struggle who laid an outstanding influence on the succeeding women freedom fighters. She was a symbol of bravery, patriotism, perseverance, generosity and resistance to British rule. She fought till her last breath for the welfare of women in the country and for the noble cause of India’s independence.

Rani Laxmibai, popularly known as ‘Rani of Jhansi’ was born on November 19, 1835 at Poona in a wealthy high class Brahmin family. She got married to Raja Gangadhar Rao, the maharaja of Jhansi, in 1842. In 1851, she gave birth to a child who unfortunately died just four months after his birth. Being highly affected by this tragic incident Raja adopted Damodar Rao as his son. She was not allowed to adopt a successor by the British, and Jhansi was annexed.

With the outbreak of the Revolt she became determined to fight back. She used to go into the battlefield dressed as a man. Holding the reins of there horse in her mouth she used the sword with both hands. Under her leadership the Rani's troops showed undaunted courage and returned shot for shot. She fought valiantly and although beaten she refused to surrender and fell as a warrior should, fighting the enemy to the last Considered by the British as the best and bravest military leader of rebels this sparkling epitome of courage died a hero's death in the battlefield.

3.Rani Avanti Bai (1831-1858)

Rani Avantibai was born on 16/08/1831.When Vikramaditya Singh, the ruler of Ramgarh State died leaving behind his wife Avantibai and no heir to the throne, the British put the state under court administration. Avantibai vowed to win back her land from the British. She raised an army of four thousand men and led it herself against the British in 1857. A fierce battle ensured and Avantibai fought most valiantly but could not hold out for long against the superior strength of the British army. When her defeat become imminent she killed herself with her own sword and English army couldn’t defeat her in her life. Later Rani Avantibia’s sacrifice became a example to the Lodhian kingdom and became history of the fight for freedom on 20-03-1858. She was a great freedom fighter.

4.Begum Hazrath Mahal (1879)

Begum Hazrat Mahal was the wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Hazrat Mahal was known as the Begum of Avadh (Oudh). She was stunning beautiful, and used her courage and leadership qualities to rebel against the British East India Company during the First Indian War of Independence.

After her husband had been sent away in exile to Calcutta, she with the cooperation of a zealous hand of supporters like Sarafaddaulah, Bal Krishna, Raja Jai Lal and  Mammon Khan worked incessantly to revive the fortunes of Avadh. She seized control of Lucknow in association with the revolutionary forces and set up her son, Prince Birjis Qadir, as the ruler of Avadh, Hazrat Mahal worked in association with Nana Saheb but later escaped from Lucknow and joined the Maulavi of Faizabad in the attack on Sahajahanpur. She rejected with the contempt the promises of allowance and status held out to her by the British against whom her hatred was unrelenting. In the end after bearing misfortune and misery throughout the period of resistance, she found asylum in Nepal where she died in 1879.

5.Sarojinidevi Naidu(1879-1949)

Sarojini Naidu (Chattapadhya) was born on February 13, 1879 in Hyderabad. Her major contribution was also in the field of poetry. She got recognition as the “Bul Bule Hind” when her collection of poems was published in 1905 under the title “Golden Threshold”.

.In 1916, she met Mahatma Gandhi, and she totally directed her energy to the fight for freedom. She would roam around the country like a general of the army and pour enthusiasm among the hearts of Indians. She was responsible for awakening the women of India. She traveled from state to state, city after city and asked for the rights of the women. She re-established self-esteem within the women of India.

In 1925, she chaired the summit of Congress in Kanpur. In 1928, she came to the USA with the message of the non-violence movement from Gandhiji. When in 1930, Gandhiji was arrested for a protest, she took the helms of his movement. In 1931, she participated in the Round Table Summit, along with Gandhiji and Pundit Malaviyaji. In 1942, she was arrested during the “Quit India” protest and stayed in jail. After independence she became the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. She was the first woman governor. On March 2, 1949, she took her last breath.Her name will always be in the golden history of India as an inspiring poet and a brave freedom fighter.

6.Preeti Lata Waddadar (1911-32)

Preetilata was born on 5 May 1911 in the Dholaghat village of Chittagong. As a student, Preetilata joined the Deepali Sangha, a Dhaka based women’s revolutionary organization. As a member of the Revolutionary party Preetilata formed a student front of the revolutionary party with a couple of her classmates. Her group raised money to support the Chittagong based revolutionaries and organized a readers’ forum to promote patriotic spirit among the college students. On the direction of the party high command Preetilata bought explosive implements from underground factories in Kolkata and took the explosives to Chittagong. Preetilata was a member of Jugantar-a secret revolutionary organization.

The death of comrade Ardhendu Dastidar in the Jalalabad hill war on 22 April 1930 spurred her commitment to revolutionary causes.She demanded that girls should be given equal opportunity in armed revolutionary activities. She was nominated to lead the attack on the European Club in Chittagong on 23 september 1932. Preetilata was a born rebel and was determined not to surrender to the British colonists so the valiant rebel took out the cyanide pill and swallowed it.

7.Matangini Hazra (1869-1942)

Was an Indian revolutionary who participated in the Indian independence movement until she was shot dead by the British Indian police in front of the Tamluk Police Station (of erstwhile Midnapore District) on September 29, 1942. She was affectionately known as Gandhi buri, Bangla for old lady Gandhi.

Matangini Hazra, who was 73 years at the time, led a procession of six thousand supporters, mostly women volunteers, with the purpose of taking over the Tamluk police station. When the procession reached the outskirts of the town, they were ordered to disband under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code by the Crown police.

The Biplabi newspaper of the parallel Tamluk National Government commented:

“ Matangini led one procession from the north of the criminal court building; even after the firing commenced, she continued to advance with the tri-colour flag, leaving all the volunteers behind. The police shot her three times. She continued marching despite wounds to the forehead and both hands. “”

As she was repeatedly shot, she kept chanting Vande Mataram, translating as “hail to the Motherland”. She died with the flag of the Indian National Congress held high and still flying.

8.Kasturba Gandhi (April 11, 1869 – 22 February 1944)

Kasturba Gandhi of Porbandar,affectionately called Ba, was the wife of Mohandas Gandhi. She was a leader of Women’s Satyagraha for which she was imprisoned. She helped her husband in the cause of Indigo workers in Champaran, Bihar and the No Tax Campaign in Kaira, Gujarat. She was arrested twice for picketing liquor and foreign cloth shops, and in 1939 for participating in the Rajkot Satyagraha.

Kasturba was deeply religious. Like her husband, she renounced all caste distinctions and lived in ashrams. From 1904 to 1914, she was active in the Phoenix Settlement near Durban. During the 1913 protest against working conditions for Indians in South Africa, Kasturba was arrested and sentenced to three months in a hard labor prison. In 1915, when Gandhi returned to India to support indigo planters, Kasturba accompanied him. She taught hygiene, discipline, reading and writing to women and children.

Kasturba suffered from chronic bronchitis. Stress from the Quit India Movement’s arrests and ashram life caused her to fall ill. After contracting pneumonia, she died from a severe heart attack on February 22, 1944.

9.Kalpana Datta (1913-1995)

Kalpana Joshi (Datta) a revolutionary, was born at Sripur of Chittagong district on 27 July 1913. Greatly influenced by the examples set by the revolutionaries Kshatriya Basu and Kanailal Datta, she joined the Chhatri Sangha.

The Chittagong Armory Raid took place on 18 April 1930 and Kalpana hurried back to Chittagong and came in contact with Surya Sen in May 1931. Kalpana was entrusted with the safe carrying of heavy explosive materials

from Calcutta. She also secretly prepared ‘gun-cotton’ and planned to plant a dynamite fuse under the court building and inside the jail to free the revolutionary leaders, who were being tried in a special Tribunal.

In Chittagong she organised the Kisans’ and women’s fronts of the party. In 1946 she contested, though unsuccessfully, in the elections to the Bengal Legislative Assembly. After 1947 she migrated to India and resigned from active politics.Kalpana Datta breathed her last at New Delhi on 8 February 1995.

10.Lakshmi Sahgal (Swaminathan) (1914)

Lakshmi Sahgal (or Sahgal) née Swaminathan, also known as Captain Lakshmi (born October 24, 1914 in Madras, Madras Presidency, British India) is an activist of the Indian independence movement, an ex-officer of the Indian National Army, and the Minister of Women’s affairs in the Azad Hind Government.

Lakshmi Sahgal later became involved in politics in independent India, serving as a member of parliament in the Upper House and later running for President as a left wing candidate.

Lakshmi received an MBBS degree from Madras Medical College in 1938. In 1940,she left for Singapore where she established a clinic for the poor, mostly migrant labour, from India. In 1943,Lakshmi joined the Rani of Jhansi Regiment ,raised by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. She was given the rank of a Colonel. The unit had the strength of a Brigade. In a regular army, this women’s army unit was the first of its kind in Asia. The army fought on the side of the Axis powers against the British.She became the Minister in charge of Women’s Organization in Arzi Hukumate Azad Hind (Provisional Government of Free India), led by Subhas Chandra Bose.

11.Beena Das (Bhowmick) (1911-1986)

Beena Das from Orissa is well-known in the history of Indian freedom fighting for daring attack on English Governor and University Chancellor Stanley Jackson, who was a symbol of a long and oppressive English colonial rule in India. The incident took place during the 1932 convocation of Calcutta University. She was given 9 years of imprisonment with labor Although she was unsuccessful, her act inspired many a young mind of those days.

After her release in 1939, she joined the “Jugantar” revolutionary club. She was again imprisoned in 1942 for three years while she was the Secretary of Calcutta Congress Committee. A true revolutionary spirit, her activities did not end with the Indian Independence in 1947. She aided Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman during his declaration of revolution in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) against a brutal and oppressive West Pakistan administration. This incident eventually precipitated into the full-scale Bangladesh war. Again in 1975 Mrs. Bhowmick spoke out against the Declaration of Emergency and suppression of personal rights by the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. She personally witnessed and strongly protested against the police brutality on the refugees in Marichjh(n)api. A good writer, she penned two books, the autobiography “Shrinkhal Jhankar” and “Pitredhan”.

In a characteristic show of idealistic strength, she didn’t accept the “Freedom Fighters’ Pension” offered by the Government of India.

12.Kanaklatha Baruah (1924-1942)

An Assam girl Kanaklata Barua was a freedom fighter and martyr. On 20 September 1942, Under the leadership of the revolutionary Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, in the district of Darrang, a resolution was adopted unanimously to hoist the national flag at the court and police station, seen as symbols of the British Empire. Fearless Kanaklata Brua marched ahead and had to face the bullets of the strong police force. She had laid down her life for the freedom of the country.

13.Nellie Sengupta (Gray)(1886-1973)

Nellie Sengupta was among the English Women who came to India to dedicate her life for its people. Though an outsider she proved herself as a true Indian patriot.

While studying in England, she met Jatindra Mohan Sengupta an Indian patriot and got married. After her marriage, she associated sincerely with her husband’s work to letterate India from the bondage of British imperialism.She was the inspiring power behind all his activities in the political field.

During the non-cooperation movement she was arrested while selling khadi in Chittagong (now in Bangladesh). She helped her husband when he was involved in the strike of the Bengal Assam Railway men as well as steamer service workers in support of the tea plantation laborers who were stranded in Chandpur and were brutally tortured by the British police.

Nellie was elected Congress President in 1933. It was a recognition for her valuable contribution to the cause of India’s independence. Later Nellie was elected alderman of Calcutta (Kolkata) Corporation.After the partition of India, she stayed in her husband’s paternal house. She devoted herself to social welfare work. She was elected unopposed to the East Pakistan(now Bangladesh) Legislative Assembly from Chittagong.

14.Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya (3 April 1903- 29 October 1988)

Kamaladevi was born in a Saraswat family on 3 April 1903. But above everything, she is remembered for her phenomenal role in reviving the traditional handicrafts of India during the post independence era.As chief of the Board of Handicrafts, she started the pension system for craftsmen.

Kamaladevi fought against social evils that restricted the development of women. She was an active member of the youth wing of INC (Indian National Congress). During partition, Kamaladevi set up co-operative societies and self-employment schemes to help refugees. She was a trade-unionist, a revolutionary, a reformer, a great patron of arts, an accomplished writer, an orator, and a freedom fighter.

She became an early supporter of the nations’ swadeshi mission and also participated in the nation-wide non-cooperation movement launched by Gandhiji in 1923. Thereafter, Kamaladevi joined the Seva Dal established to work for social upliftment of the downtrodden.

In her missionary zeal she championed the causes of women empowerment, education, handicraft, theater along with her contribution to the field of arts, crafts and writings.  In her pursuit and commitment she turned down many offers such as being nominated to the posts of the Vice President of India, Governor of Orissa or Tamilnadu, Ambassador in Cairo or Moscow. 

As a befitting tribute to a cultural icon of India one can conclude with the words of former President of India, R. Venkataraman, quoted , “Flower buds seemed to blossom at her touch-whether they be flower buds of human beings or institutions.  People became more human and more sensitive to the deeper impulses of society when they came into contact with her….”

15.Indira Gandhi (November19,1917-October 31,1984)

Indira Priyadarshini was born Nov. 19, 1917 in Allahabad in northern India.

The most remarkable of women in modern India’s was Indira Gandhi who from her early years was active in the national liberation struggle. During the 1930 movement, she formed the ‘Vanar Sena’.  A children’s brigade to help freedom fighters.

She became a member of the Indian National Congress in 1938. Her public activity entered a new phase with India’s Independence in 1947. She took over the responsibility of running the Prime Minister’s House. She worked first as member of the Congress Working Committee in 1955 and later as member of the Central Parliamentary Board in 1958. In 1959, she was elected President of the Indian National Congress. She oriented Congress thinking and action towards basic issues confronting Indian society and enthused the younger generation the task of nation-building.

In the eventful years of her leadership as Prime Minister, Indian society underwent profound changes. She was unremitting in her endeavor for the unity and solidarity of the nation. A staunch defender of the secular ideals of the Constitution, she worked tirelessly for the social and economic advancement of the minorities. She had a vision of a modern self-reliant and dynamic economy.

She fought boldly and vigorously against communalism, obscurantism, and religious fundamentalism of all types. She laid down her life in defense of the ideals on which the unity and integrity of the Republic are founded. She became the indomitable symbol of India’s self-respect and self-confidence.

Sarala Debi

One of the gurus (inspirers) of anti Britsh armed movement in India (Bangla). She played a great role in forming the network of Anushilan Samitis in all major towns in united Bangla between 1900-1910. She worked hand in hand with the other inspirers of the movement: Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sri Aurobindo Ghose, Sister Nibedita, Peter Kropotkin and Kakuzo Okakura.

Durga bhabhi SHE appeared like a meteor on the firmament of freedom struggle in India and wielded tremendous influence on revolutionaries such as Bhagat Singh, Ashfaqullah and Chandrashekhar Azad. Her name was Durgavati Devi

Annie Besant

A great woman, patriot and a true fighter, Annie Besant, was born in London on October 1, 1847. She was a prominent Theosophist, social reformer, political leader, women's rights activist, writer and orator. She fought for the rights of Indian and was the first woman president of Indian National Congress.Annie Besant fought for women's rights, secularism, birth control, Fabian socialism and workers' rights. She became a member of Theosophical Society of India after her arrival in India in 1893.

She toured the entire country of India to get first hand information about India and middle-class Indians who were affected more by British rule and its system of education. Her long-time interest in education resulted in the founding of the Central Hindu College at Benares (1898).

She also became involved in Indian freedom movement. In 1916, she founded Home Rule League which advocated self rule by Indians. She became the President of Indian National Congress in 1917. She started a newspaper, "New India", criticized British rule and was jailed for sedition.

Sucheta Kriplani,

a great freedom fighter, was born in June 1908 in Ambala. After her studies she started her career as a lecturer in Banaras Hindu University. Sucheta was greatly inspired by the works of Mahatma Gandhi and in 1946 she joined the Kasturba Gandhi Memorial Trust as Organizing Secretary. She was actively involved in Quit India Movement and the partition riots. In 1946, she went with Gandhi to Noakhali and there she became the real mother of the victims of atrocities. She also got elected to the Constituent Assembly and sang the national song in the Independence session of Constituent Assembly on August 15, 1947.

Even after independence she had not stopped working for the weaker sections of the society and was greatly involved in the upliftment of Indians. In 1952 and 1957, she was elected as the member of Lok Sabha and had also served as the Minister of State. She was the first woman who was appointed as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1963.

Bhikaji Cama, also known as Madam Cama, was an outstanding lady of great courage, fearlessness, integrity, perseverance and passion for freedom. Madam Bhikhaji Cama was a pioneer amongst those who martyred their lives for India’s freedom and was considered the mother of Indian Revolution. Cama was born on September 24, 1861 in a rich Parsi family at Bombay. Being a nationalist and a social worker Cama worked for the victims of plague in 1896, Bombay Presidency. In 1902 she left for London and there too she worked for promoting India’ freedom struggle. For some time, she worked as private secretary to Dadabhai Navaroji, a great Indian leader.

Bhikaji Cama has always been actively involved in fighting for gender equality She was exiled by the Britishers from her motherland. In 1905,Cama along with her friends designed the India’s first tricolor flag with green, saffron and red stripes bearing the immortal words – Bande Matram. On August 22, 1907, she raised the flag for India's Independence at the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart, Germany. There are many cities in India that have streets and places being named after Bhikaiji Cama. On 26th January 1962, the Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department issued a stamp to acknowledge her work and give her honor. The Indian Coast Guard consists of a ship that has been named after her.

ARUNA ASAF ALI

Aruna Asaf Ali was a legendary heroine of India's freedom struggle and is widely remembered for hoisting the Congress flag at Bombay during the Quit India Movement. Aruna Asaf Ali was born at Kalka (Haryana) in an orthodox Hindu Bengali family. She worked in the worst of slums to offer aid to the poor and the exploited. Aruna Asaf Ali took active interest in Congress programmes and joined the civil disobedience movement of 1930. During Salt Satyagraha she was arrested and was sent to Lahore jail to serve a one-year prison term. She was held for participating in the 1932 movement and was put in Tihar Jail. In Tihar Jail she went on a hunger strike against the treatment meted out to political prisoners. She is known as the `Grand Old Lady` of the Independence Movement.

In 1955 she became a Vice President of the All India Trade Union Congress. In 1958 she left the Communist Party of India and was elected Delhi's first Mayor. She was awarded the Lenin Prize for peace in 1975 and the Jawahar Lal Nehru award for International understanding for 1991. She was awarded India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, and was honoured with a stamp issued by the Indian Postal Service in 1998.

KAMLA NEHRU

Kamala Nehru wife of one of the most notable political figures in India Jawaharlal Nehru ,took part in Non Cooperation Movement of 1921. She convinced a large number of women in Allahabad to join hands with her in picketing shops in the city that were selling foreign cloth and liquor.

VIJAYALAXMI PANDIT

The sister of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, she was the first woman to become the President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. She was the first woman to hold a prestigious position in the cabinet. In the year 1937, she was elected to the provincial legislature of the United Provinces and she became the minister of the local self governing body. She held this position for two consecutive years. Later, in the year 1946, she was reelected for this position. In the post independence period, she made an entry into the diplomatic services and served as the ambassador of India to various countries like Soviet Union, Ireland, United States and Mexico. From 1962 to 1964, she served as the governor of Maharashtra.

Padmaja Naidu

Sarojini’s daughter Miss Padmaja Naidu devoted herself to the cause of Nation like her mother. At the age of 21, she entered the National scene and became the joint founder of the Indian National Congress of Hyderabad. She spread the message of Khadi and inspired people to boycott foreign goods. She was jailed for taking part in the “Quit India” movement in 1942. After Independence, she became the Governor of West Bengal. During her public life spanning over half a century, she was associated with the Red Cross. 

Parbati Giri

Parbati Giri, nicknamed as the Mother Teresa of Western Orissa, was a prominent female freedom fighter and activist for tribal rights from Orissa, India. Giri was born in Samlaipadar village near Bijepur of the present Bargarh district and undivided Sambalpur district in 19 January 1926. Due to her anti-British government activities, she was imprisoned for two years.Parbati Giri was just 16 when she was in the forefront of agitation following Mahatma Gandhi’s “Quit India” call. She continued to serve the nation socially after independence. In 1955 she joined an American project to improve the health and hygiene of the people of Sambalpur district. She started an ashram for women and orphans called the Kasturba Gandhi Matruniketan at Nrusinghanath, and another home for the destitute called Dr. Santra Bal Niketan at Birasingh Gar under Jujomura block in Sambalpur District. She worked in jail improvement and leprosy eradication. The Department of Social Welfare of the government of India awarded her a prize in 1984.