HISTORY OF INDIA..........

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge...At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history,
when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance Jawaharlal Nehru Claiming Independence from British Midnight of August 14, 1947

INDIA IS MY COUNTRY..

MEANING OF INDIA FLAG..

There are various national symbols that represent each nation, one of them being the flag that every citizen salutes to. And every nation’s flag has a story to narrate; it has a history behind it.

The story of the Indian flag is based on a freedom struggle, which will be remembered for eons to come.

The reason for this is that here was one struggle based on the premise of peace and non-violence as propagated by Mahatma Gandhi. And this makes each citizen proud of being Indian.

The India flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya and was adopted at an ad hoc Constituent Meeting that was held on 22nd July 1947. The flag is made up of three colors placed horizontally and in equal proportion – saffron (on top), white (in the middle), green (bottom). In the center of the white portion is the Ashoka Chakra – a navy blue wheel with 24 spokes.

Where the meaning of the India flag goes, the nation’s first Vice-President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, described it’s significance as follows: “Bhagwa or the saffron colour denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work.

The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct. The green shows our relation to (the) soil, our relation to the plant life here, on which all other life depends.

The ‘Ashoka Chakra’ in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling principle of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life in movement. India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change."

Even though this is considered as one of the official descriptions of the flag; according to popular understanding saffron denotes spirituality, white is for peace, green is for abundance and the wheel represents justice. According to Independent India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, the flag not only represents freedom of the nation; but also freedom of each and every citizen of the country.

To commemorate the tireless efforts of the nation’s freedom fighter, each year citizens across the nation gather together to hoist the flag and salute to it as they sing the National Anthem. 15th August (Independence Day) and 26th January (Republic Day), are very important dates marked on every Indian nationals calendar.

FREEDOM FIGHTERS OF INDIA..

‘Free India’ was a dream of all Indians under the British rule. Everyone during that rule fought in some way or the other with a common aim of ending British and other colonial authorities in India. After a century of revolutions, struggle, blood shedding, battles and sacrifices, India finally achieved independence on August 15, 1947.

India was free in 1947 from the British Empire but the country lost many men and women who were filled with undaunted courage and spirit of patriotism. Today, they are known as freedom fighters because they sacrificed their lives for their motherland.

Indian freedom fighters with their true spirit and undaunted courage had faced various tortures, exploitations and hardships to earn us freedom.

The pioneers of the freedom movement were Mangal Pandey, Tantia Tope, Rani of Jhansi and the great Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi who introduced non-violent ways of fighting the enemy. Other notable freedom fighters of India are Annie Besant, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bhagat Singh, Bipin Chandra Pal, Sukhdev, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Chandrashekhar Azad, Sarojini Naidu>, Dadabhai Naoroji, Sucheta Kriplani and Chakravarti Rajagopalachari.

There are endless number of men and women other than the above list who daringly fought for India’s freedom.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi..

Mahatma Gandhi popularly known as ‘Father of the Nation’ was one of the charismatic Indian leaders who fought for the freedom of the country. This great leader was born in Porbandar, Gujarat on Oct 2, 1869. He was the youngest of the three sons of Putlibai and Karamchand Gandhi. He completed his primary studies in Rajkot and was married to Kasturba at the age of 13.

In 1891, Gandhi went to London to study Law but after having admitted to Britisah bar he returned to India and began law practice in Bombay. After a span of two years he was called by an Indian company in South Africa to work as a legal advisor. There he found that he was ill-treated and abused because of inferior race and color discrimination. This was a common problem with all Indians. He then decided to throw himself into the freedom struggle to secure rights for Indian people. For this cause, Gandhi stayed in South Africa for almost 25 years.

Influenced by the Bhagvad Gita and Hindu beliefs, the Jain religion and the Christian teachings of Leo Tolstoy, Gandhi moved on the path of Satya and Ahimsa. ‘Satya’ meaning ‘truth’ and ‘ahimsa’ meaning ‘non-violence’ were the two weapons that Gandhi used to fight the enemy. He led the campaign in South Africa with the principle of Satyagraha for Indian rights and was arrested many times for his political activities. In 1914, many of Gandhi’s demands were accepted by the Government of the Union of South Africa. After his struggle in South Africa he returned to India and started Non-Cooperation movement there.

Gandhi, after returning to India inspired people to boycott British goods and refuse earthy possessions. This movement was known as Swaraj and was economically significant because Indian home industries were virtually destructed by British industrialists. He advocated renewal of native Indian industries and began to use a spinning wheel as a token of return to simple village life. Thereafter, he constantly began promoting satyagraha, non-violence, non-cooperation and swaraj to achieve independence. Finally, in August 1947, the British were forced to leave India.

Mahatma Gandhi, symbol of Free India, was assassinated by Nathuram Godse in January 1948. His mortal frame has already turned into ashes years ago but he still lives in the hearts of millions of people. Mahatma Gandhi, an embodiment of eternal love and truth, will live for immortal ages.

Mangal Pandey..

Born on July 19, 1827 in the village of Nagwa, district Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, Mangal Pandey was introduced to Indian history as the first freedom fighter and martyr of 1857. He is popularly named ‘Shaheed Mangal Pandey’ because ‘Shaheed’ means martyr in Urdu and he was the first Indian sepoy who woke up the Indian masses to fight for the nation.

Mangal Pandey, at the age of 22 joined the British East India Company as a soldier in the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry. He was a true freedom fighter who gave a spark to the First War of Indian Independence. The British termed it as Sepoy Mutiny 1857 as it was a mass revolt of Indian soldiers in the British Army.

The main reason of Sepoy Mutiny was the Pattern 1853 Enfield rifled musket. To load a new rifle, the soldiers had to bite the cartridge and open to pour gunpowder into the rifle’s muzzle. There was a widespread rumor that these cartridges were greased with lard or tallow. Lard is the pork fat which the Muslims regarded as unclean and tallow is the beef fat which the Hindus regarded as sacred. The British army constituted 96% of Indians and so both the Hindus and the Muslims refused to accept these cartridges. Everyone had a firm belief that this was done intentionally and this discontent turned into a major revolt.

Mass revolt forced Pandey to attack his British sergeant on the parade ground, besides wounding an adjutant. A native soldier stopped him from killing them. The officer in charge ordered a Jamadaar of the troop to arrest Pandey but he refused to do so. Mangal tried to commit suicide to light the flame of nationalism in the hearts of millions of Indians but he failed to do so. He was then captured and sentenced to death on April 8, 1857 in Barrackpore. March 29, 1857 is considered to be a day when Mangal Pandey reaped the seed for a struggle which gave India her freedom.

Lal Bahadur Shastri..

Lal Bahadur Shastri, the second Prime Minister of India, was born on October 2, 1904 at Mughalsarai, a railway colony located at seven miles away from Varanasi. He imbibed boldness, courage, selflessness, self-respect and other virtues from his parents Shradha Prasad and Ramdulari Devi.

In 1921, Gandhi Ji launched Non Cooperation Movement and called to the youth to fight for the noble cause of freedom. Shastri was highly influenced by the movement and joined the freedom struggle at the age of 17. He was arrested during the movement but was later released. He then joined Kashi Vidya Peeth and earned the degree of ‘Shashtri’. After earning this degree, he joined ‘The Servants of the People Society’ that was started by Lala Lajpat Rai in 1921, with the aim to train youth who were resolved to dedicate their lives for the country.

Bahadur Shastri married Lalita Devi in 1927. Being a true follower of Gandhi Ji, he took a spinning wheel and few yards of khadi in dowry. In response to the call of Gandhi Ji, he actively participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement, Salt Stayagraha and Quit India Movement for which he was sentenced to imprisonment several times. Finally, in 1947 Britishers were forced to quit India. Thereafter, in 1947, he was appointed as Minister of Police and Transport in Pant’s Cabinet and in 1964 as Prime Minister of India.

In 1965, war started between India and Pakistan. During this war, Shastri played a key role in maintaining internal security of the country. He coined a slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ to bring unity within the country and finally led India to victory. He died on January 10, 1966 at Tashkent after he had signed the Joint Declaration with President Agha Khan of Pakistan.

Sarojini Naidu..

Sarojini Naidu was born on February 13, 1879, in a house of intellectuals, poets, philosophers and revolutionaries. She was the eldest daughter of Aghornath Chattopadhyaya and Varasundari. Aghornath was a pioneer in education and established Nizam’s College in Hyderabd in 1878 and Varasundari was a Bengali poetess.

Imbibing virtues and cultures from her family, Sarojini was a combination of all – a good poetess, intelligent, philosopher, singer and a true freedom fighter. She was also called bulbul because she possessed a sweet voice. She completed her matriculation in Madras Presidency and received scholarship to study abroad. At the age of 16, she went to England for further studies and at the age of 21 she got married to Dr. Govindarajulu Naidu.

Sarojini joined the Indian independence movement in 1905 and came in contact with various other freedom fighters. In 1916, she met Mahatma Gandhi and was motivated to start her career as a freedom fighter. She woke up women of India from sleep and re-established self esteem within them. To do so, she traveled from state to state and city to city, asking for women’s rights.

In 1925, she presided over the annual session of Indian National Congress and later participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement. She was arrested in 1942 during the Quit India Movement and was imprisoned for several months.

She was the first Indian woman to become the Governor of the largest state of the union, Uttar Pradesh. Naidu vibrantly fought for the freedom of the country but she could not enjoy the freedom for long. She died in her office on March 2, 1949.

Bhagat Singh..

Bhagat Singh, a symbol of heroism, was born in a Sikh family in Layalpur, Punjab on September 27, 1907. He was a national hero who gave a new wave to the revolutionary movement in India. His only goal in life was the destruction of British Empire.

Bhagat started his education in DAV School in Lahore but was not able to complete his studies because he was highly disturbed and influenced by the Jalianwala Bagh massacre at the age of 12. His desire to drive British out from India became stronger and he joined the Non-Cooperation Movement called by Gandhi Ji in 1921. The incidence of Chauri-Chaura in Gorakhpur made Bhagat violent and he decided to earn freedom with armed revolution rather than non-violence. He then joined the National College in Lahore, a center of revolutionary activities.

To spread message of revolution in Punjab, Bhagat formed a union of revolutionaries by the name ‘Naujavan Bharat Sabha’ and gave a call for mass mobilization. In 1928, he went to Delhi to attend a meeting of revolutionaries’ and there he came in contact with Chandrashekhar Azad. With a common aim to establish republic in India they both formed ‘Hindustan Samajvadi Prajatantra Sangha’. There were protests against of Simon Commission visit to India and in this protest Lala Lajpat Rai was brutally lathi charged and later on he died. This added to the anger and discontent of Bhagat and he was determined to kill the British official and Deputy Inspector General Scott responsible for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai. By mistake, he killed assistant superintendent Saunders and ran from Lahore to escape punishment. He threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly on April 18, 1929 and was sentenced to death on March 23, 1931.

Though dead, Bhagat Singh is still living in the history of humanity and remembered as a prominent face of the freedom struggle.

Chandrasekhar Azad..

Chandrashekhar, a fearless revolutionary and a great freedom fighter, was born on July 23, 1906 in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh. He was the son of Pandit Sita Ram Tiwari and Jagrani Devi. He started his education in Bhavra and at the age of 14 he went to Varanasi where he was taught to live the austere life of a Brahamachari.

During his stay in Varanasi he was highly inspired by the Non Cooperation movement of Mahatma Gandhi. He actively participated in the movement for which he was sentenced to fifteen lashes of logging at the age of 15. In the court he addressed himself as ‘Azad’, and gave his father’s name as ‘Swadhin’ and his mother’s name as ‘Dhart Ma’. With endurance, courage and fortitude he tolerated all the lashes. With each stroke of the whip he shouted ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. From then, he was honored and titled as ‘Azad’ by the local Indians. Thereafter, he got the name Chandrashekhar Azad. When he was released, he took a pledge that he would never be arrested by the Britishers and will die as a free man.

When the Non Cooperation Movement was suspended due to Chauri-Chaura incidence, Azad switched over to armed revolution and formed ‘Hindustan Socialist Republican Association’ with other revolutionaries to spread the message of complete independence. He actively participated in revolutionary activities and was involved in Kakori Train Robbery and the attempt to blow up the Viceroy's train in 1926. For British Government, he was a terrorist because he killed John Poyantz Saunders to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.

On 27th February 1931, Azad was betrayed by one of the associates who informed the British Police. In Alfred Park, Allahabad he was besieged by the British police. He fought bravely for quite some time but seeing no other way he shot himself and fulfilled his desire to die a 'free man'. A great Indian leader, Chandrashekhar Azad was the heart of all revolutionary leaders and his poetic composition, ‘Dushman ki goliyon ka hum samna karenge, Azad hee rahein hain, azad hee rahenge' is still recited by Indian soldiers fighting for free India.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak..

Born in a well-cultured Brahim family on July 23, 1856 in Ratangari, Maharashtra, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a multifacet personality. He is considered to be the ‘Father of Indian Unrest’. He was a scholar of Indian history, Sanskrit, mathematics, astronomy and Hinduism. He had imbibed values, cultures and intelligence from his father Gangadhar Ramchandra Tilak who was a Sanskrit scholar and a famous teacher. At the age of 10, Bal Gangadhar went to Pune with his family as his father was transferred. In Pune, he was educated in an Anglo-Vernacular school. After some years he lost his mother and at the age of 16 his father too he got married to a 10-year-old girl named Satyabhama while he was studying in Matriculation. In 1877, Tilak completed his studies and continued with studying Law.

With an aim to impart teachings about Indian culture and national ideals to India’s youth, Tilak along with Agarkar and Vishnushstry founded the ‘Deccan Education Society’. Soon after that Tilak started two weeklies, ‘Kesari’ and ‘Marathi’ to highlight plight of Indians. He also started the celebrations of Ganapati Festival and Shivaji Jayanti to bring people close together and join the nationalist movement against British. In fighting for people’s cause, twice he was sentenced to imprisonment. He launched Swadeshi Movenment and believed that ‘Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it’. This quote inspired millions of Indians to join the freedom struggle. With the goal of Swaraj, he also built ‘Home Rule League’. Tilak constantly traveled across the country to inspire and convince people to believe in Swaraj and fight for freedom. He was constantly fighting against injustice and one sad day on August 1, 1920, he died.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak was one of the prime architects of modern India and is still living in the hearts of millions of India.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad..

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, first President of independent India, was born on December 3, 1884 in Ziradevi village in Bihar’s Siwan district.

He was the youngest son of Mahadev Sahay and Kamleshwari Devi. As per their custom, he was put under a Maulavi to learn Persian at the age of 5. Later on, he also learnt Hindi and arithmetic. He got married to Rajvanshi Devi at the age of 12. After marriage, he gave the entrance examination for Calcutta University and got scholarship there. He was a brilliant student and earned Masters Degree in Law.

In 1905, Dr Rajendra Prasad plunged a headlong into the Swadeshi Movement and later on joined the Dawn Society run by Satish Chandra Mukherjee and Sister Nivedita.

A new awareness was dawning into him under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi. Highly impressed by Gandhi Ji’s dedication, courage and conviction, he joined him in the freedom struggle. He was actively involved in the Non Cooperation Movement, Salt Stayagraha and Champaran Agrarian Agitation.

In 1934, while Prasad was in jail, a devastating earthquake struck Bihar. Prasad was soon released after that and he completely dedicated himself to raise funds for the victims of earthquake. He was successful in doing so and further to it in 1935 during the Quetta earthquake he had set up relief committees.

In 1934, he was elected as the President of Indian National Congress and in 1950 as President of independent India. As a President, he served the country for twelve years and was retired in 1962.

In the subsequent year he was honored with the Bharat Ratna Award, the nation’s highest civilian award. He lived for almost a year after that and then left for his heavenly abode on February 28, 1963

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari..

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, popularly known as ‘Rajaji’ or ‘C.R.’, was born in a Tamil Brahmin family on December 10, 1878 in a village of Salem district.

He was a great patriot, astute politician, incisive thinker, and one of the greatest statesmen.

C.R. completed his graduation from central Hindu College of Madras and took a Law Degree from Madras Law College. In 1900, he shifted his interest form law to politics.

Rajaji actively participated in Home League Rule under Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Later in 1919, he was highly influenced by the work of Gandhi Ji and chose to join him in the freedom struggle. Thereafter, he came into contact with Nehru, Patel, Annie Besant, Rajendra Prasad and Maulana Azad. In 1921, under Mahatma Gandhi, he was selected as General Secretary of Congress Party and soon after that his daughter got married in the Gandhi family.

Later, in 1937 he was selected as the Chief Minister of Madras. He maintained his position as the top leaders of the Congress until independence. In 1946, he became minister in the interim government and finally in 1947, after independence, he was appointed as the governor of West Bengal. In 1948, he was honored with the title ‘First Indian Governor General of India’.

In 1957, Rajaji found the Swatantra Party with an aim to oppose the license system required to set up a business in India. He also published the Hindu epic Mahabharata that was translated from Sanskrit to Tamil and then to Hindi. Till his last breath that he took on December 26, 1992, he constantly had served the country and worked for betterment.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale..

Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a pioneer of Indian National Movement, was bron on May 9, 1866 in Kothapur, Maharashtra.

This great son of Krishna Rao and Valubai was the political guru of Gandhi Ji. He received his early education at Rajaram High School in Kothapur and later on moved to Bombay in 1884 to receive higher education.

It is said that Gokhale was one of the first Indians who completed graduation. Higher education made him understand the importance of liberty, democracy and parliamentary system. He wanted to widespread the knowledge he gained and so moved on to teaching. With strong command over English he was able to communicate with the Britishers but he also wanted local Indians to speak in a way that their voices are heard.

In 1885, Gokhale along with his Deccan Education Society colleagues founded the Fergusson College in Pune. In the subsequent year he met a great scholar and a social reformer Mahadev Govind Rane. Being highly influenced by the social works of Ranade, Gokhale called him guru and started moving on the path of social reforms. He founded the Servants of India Society in 1905. The main objective of this society was to train Indians to raise their voices and serve their country.

Gokhale was actively involved in the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909 that gave Indians right to access highest posts in the government. He also wrote articles for Tilak’s weekly paper. Through his articles he tried to awaken the lost voices, latent patriotism and the feeling of liberty.

Gokhale had greatly contributed to India’s independence and development in all spheres. He was a patient of diabetes and asthma and unfortunately died on February 19, 1915.

Jawaharlal Nehru..

Born on November 14, 1889 in Allahabad, Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India. The only son of Motilal Nehru and Swarup Rani was a patriot, a freedom fighter and the most highly respected personality. He completed his early education in a boarding school in England. For higher studies he went to Cambridge University and returned to India in 1912 as a barrister. Just after his studies, in 1916 he got married to Kamala Kaul.

Nehru was an intellectual with strong feelings of patriotism, liberty and unity. Being highly influenced by Gandhi Ji, he wanted to join the freedom struggle. During the struggle he was imprisoned several times. He had spent almost 14 years of his life in prison. For consequently 5 times he was elected as the President of Indian National Congress and under his influence Congress adopted the goal of complete independence. After centuries of struggle, India became independent in 1947 and soon after that Nehru was appointed as the first Prime Minister of the country.

Even after independence he had served the country that had left a profound influence on the social structure, intellectual development and overall development of the country. He is said to be the architect, the maker of modern India. On May 27, 1964 India lost its architecture.

Indira Gandhi..

Indira Gandhi was born on November 19, 1917 in Allahabad and was the loving grand-daughter of Motilal Nehru. She completed her early education from Pune University and was further sent to Shantiniketan formed by Rabindranath Tagore. She then went to Oxford University for further studies.

After completing her education she returned to India in 1941 and got married to Feroz Gandhi, the son of Gandhi family. Her father Jawaharlal Nehru was a freedom fighter and so she was exposed to politics since childhood. Mahatma Gandhi was a frequent visitor to her house and she was highly inspired by the feelings of patriotism he had. Further to her marriage, Nehru was imprisoned and he wrote beautiful letters to Indira. These letters were to make Indira aware of the current political condition of the country.

Being highly influenced by her father’s letter, she decided to join freedom struggle. In 1942, she participated in Quit India Movement for which she was imprisoned. She laid emphasis on the freedom of the country and convinced local Indians to fight for the cause.

After gaining independence in 1947, she was appointed as the third Prime Minister and the first woman Prime Minister of the country in 1966. Her commendable efforts during her tenure of 16 years are unforgettable. Fighting the battle for her country, she was killed by her body guards on October 31, 1984.

Annie Besant..

A great woman, patriot and a true fighter, Annie Besant, was born in London on October 1, 1847. She was the daughter of an Irish businessman, William Press Wood and an Irish woman, Emily Mary Ruche. Annie was given private education and later in 1867 got married to an Anglican clergyman, named Frank Besant. At the age of 23, Annie had two children but the marriage proved to be a failure and they got divorced in 1873.

In 1870, Besant along with Charles Bradlaugh edited the weekly National Refomer. This weekly was dedicated to spread the ideas of birth control, trade unions, women’s right and national education. In 1888, she organized a strike for female workers in a London based company who were working more than they were paid and were highly affected by the factory fumes. The strike proved to be successful and she became more dedicated to women’s sufferings and rights.

In 1875, Annie joined the religious movement, Theosophy that was based on Hindu ideas of karma and reincarnation. Completely involved in the Hindu beliefs, she widespread the ideas around the world. India was one country with maximum Hindus and so she visited the country in 1983 to spread the ideas and principles of Theosophy. Later on, she settled down in India with her girl child whom she brought along with her during divorce.

During her stay in India she was actively involved in the Indian Nationalist Movement and Home Rule League. Like Gandhiji she was not fully satisfied with non violence, so being a good orator she tried to put influence on Indians by her speeches and write ups.

Fighting for a noble cause she expired in India on September 20, 1933.

Rani Lakshmibai..

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, self respect, 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’ or ‘Rani Lakshmi Bai’, 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. Even after that he was unable to come out of the tragedy of losing his son and ultimately died on November 21, 1853. Rani had faced great tragedies in life; she lost her mother at a very young age and then her husband at the age of eighteen. But, no tragedy was able to break her apart and courageously she took over all her responsibilities.

After the death of Raja of Jhansi, Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General of India, planned to annex Jhansi on the ground that it did not have any legal heir. Britishers refused to accept Damodar as the legal heir of Jhansi and in 1854, Rani of Jhansi was ordered to leave the fort after giving a pension of 60,000.

Being a patriotic woman, Rani was not willing to give the dominion of Jhansi to Britishers and called for an armed force. She successfully assembled an army of rebellions including women and was supported by many freedom fighters like Gulam Gaus Khan, Dost Khan, Khuda Baksh, Sunder-Mundar, Kashi Bai, Lala Bhau Bakshi, Moti Bai, Deewan Raghunath singh and Deewan Jawahar Singh.

In March 1858, Britishers attack on Jhansi forced Rani Lakshmi Bai’s army to fight back for the defense of the city. The war continued for two weeks but unfortunately Britishers were successful in extending their empire. Under the cover of darkness Rani along with her son and army of rebellions rode to Gwalior where again a battle was fought. The second day of the war in Gwalior unfortunately turned to be the last day of Rani’s life. Bravely fighting for India’ freedom, she died on June 18, 1858.

Bhikaji Cama..

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. She had her early education from Alexandra Native Girl’s English Institution and was open to learn all languages. She got married to a British lawyer Rustom Cama in 1885 but unfortunately they were poles apart and she involved herself in various social activities.

In 1896, Bombay Presidency was adversely hit by plague. Being a nationalist and a social worker Cama voluntarily worked for the victims of plague and at the end she herself was caught by the disease. She was saved but became very weak and was advised to go to Europe for rest and further treatment. 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.

She was constantly making people realize the importance of freedom from British rule. Britishers unpleased with her popularity concocted an assassination but fortunately Cama came to know about the planned murder and escaped to France.

In France, she made her house a secret shelter for revolutionaries around the world. She was constantly helping revolutionaries by sending materials and money across the seas as and when required. As the British saw her influence they requested French Government to send her back but the request was refused. In return, the Britishers exiled Cama 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. This flag was raised by Madam Cama On August 22, 1907, for India's Independence at the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart, Germany. After 35 years fighting for India’s independence on foreign land she returned to India and died on August 13, 1936.

Lala Lajpat Rai..

Lala Lajpat Rai, popularly known as Punjab Kesari or Lion of Punjab, was born on January 28, 1865 in Jagraon in Ludhiana. He was the eldest son of Munshi Kishan Azad and Gulab Devi who inculcated strong moral values in him. He studied law from Government College in Lahore and thereafter started his legal practice in Hissar.

His political career started in 1888 with the Indian National Congress Session at Allahabad. At the next session at Bombay in 1889, he was linked with other two leading freedom fighters Bipin Chandra Pal and Bal Gangadhar Tilak. The trio was popularly known as Lal-Bal-Pal. Lalaji was actively involved in struggle against partition of Bengal. During the struggle he galvanized Indians for a campaign of Swadeshi and was imprisoned for six months for creating turmoil.

After his release in 1907, he went to Britain in April 1914 to explain the position of India. During his stay in Britain, the First World War broke out but he was unable to return. So, he went to USA for promoting the cause of India’s freedom struggle. There he founded the India Home League Society of America. He returned to India in 1920 and formed the Congress Independence Party in protest against the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre and Non Cooperation Movement.

In 1928, Simon Commission that came to India to discuss constitutional reforms was protested by Lalaji because the commission had no Indian members. The shrewd Britishers brutally lathicharged Lalaji during the protest and because of severe head injuries he expired on November 17, 1928.

Sukhdev Thapar..

Like many other freedom fighters, Sukhdev Thapar was also a famous Indian revolutionary who sacrificed his life for the cause of India’s independence. He was born on May 15, 1907 in Naughara in Ludhiana. Since childhood, he had witnessed the brutal behavior of British authorities on Indians and grew up with a firm decision and an earnest desire to set India free from British dominion.

Sukhdev was a member of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association and took active part in various revolutionary activities. He along with other revolutionaries founded the Naujawan Bharat Sabha with the aim to aware and gear up Indian youth for the freedom struggle showing them an imaginary picture of India’s future.

As a active participant of Lahore Conspiracy Case in 1928 and Prison Hunger Strike in 1929, Sukhdev shook the established foundation of British Government. On 1929, he along with his accomplice Bhagat Singh and Shivram Rajguru was arrested for assassinating Deputy Superitendent Saunder in 1928, thus avenging the death of Lalaji. The three brave revolutionaries were sentenced to death, as per the verdict, on March 23, 1931 and their bodies were secretly cremated on the banks of River Sutlej.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad..

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, born on November 11, 1888 in Mecca, was a distinguished scholar, a great poet, a true freedom fighter and independent India’s first Education Minister. He was the son of Maulana Khaiiruddin and Aliyah. His father left India during Sepoy Mutiny and settled in Mecca. In 1890, he along with his family returned to India and settled down in Calcutta.

Maulana Azad pursued traditional Islamic education at home and learned many different languages. He was imbued with the pan-Islamic spirit and visited many places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Turkey. In these places he met many exiled revolutionaries, patriotic leaders, freedom fighters and other political members who influenced Azad with their revolutionary activities. He then imbibed patriotism and was metamorphosed into a nationalist revolutionary.

After returning back to India, he joined the revolutionary movement under Aurbindo Ghosh and Sri Shyam Sunder Chakravarthy. He also opened secret revolutionary centers all over North India and in Bombay. Azad convinced the Muslim revolutionaries to fight for India’s freedom rather than fighting for anti-Muslim causes. In 1912, he started a weekly journal to propagate Indian nationalism and revolutionary ideas based on Hindu-Muslim unity. This weekly proved to be a threat to British Empire and so he was expelled from Calcutta in 1916 and was released in 1920 after the First World War.

After his release he actively participated in Khilafat Movement, Non Cooperation Movement and Salt Stayagraha. He was imprisoned several times but this could not stop him from fighting for freedom struggle. He was a strong opponent of Hindu Muslim separation and the day partition took place his dream of a unified nation was shattered.

In 1947, Maulana Azad was appointed as the Minister of Education in the cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru. He served the country till 1958 and on February 22, 1958 died of a stroke.

Subhas Chandra Bose..

Subhas Chandra Bose is one of those great freedom fighters who martyred their lives for India’s independence. He is popularly known as Netaji because he was considered to be a born leader. He was born on January 23, 1897 in Cuttack, Orissa. And was the ninth child of a famous lawyer Janaki Nath Bose and a religious lady Prabhavati Devi. He completed his graduation in Calcutta and went to England in 1919 to appear for Indian Civil Service Examination and achieved fourth place on merit.

Filled with the feelings of patriotism, Bose was resolved to drive British out of the country. When in England, he was shaken by the incident of Jalianwala Bagh massacre and returned back to India in 1921. Under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi he joined the Indian National Congress and actively participated in Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930.

Subash along with Tilak and Auribindo were not convinced with Gandhi Ji’s method of achieving independence. They were in favor of armed revolution and Netaji strongly believed that the only way to earn freedom was by shedding blood. With this strong belief, he involved himself in various revolutionary activities for which he was imprisoned many times.

In 1938, Subash was elected as the President of All India Congress. At the time of World War II, Gandhi and Nehru did not support him for armed revolution and so he escaped to Germany to approach Hitler for help. Being impressed by Netaji, Hitler helped him to organize the Indian National Army with the soldiers of the prisoners of war. On October 21, 1943, Subash declared the formation of Azad Hind Government and hosted the Indian National Flag in Kohima, Assam on March 18, 1944.

In August 1945, Japan surrendered the territory and somehow Netaji escaped from there. He left in a war plane to an undisclosed destination and expired due to plane crash on August 17, 1945.

Dadabhai Naoroji..

Dadabhai Naoroji was a man who laid the foundation of India’s freedom struggle. He was fondly known as ‘the promise of India’ in his youth and ‘the grand old man of India’ in the later years of his life. This great man was personified as the symbol of purity, sincerity, generosity, bravery and patriotism.

Dadabhai was born on September 4, 1825 in Bombay in a Parsi priest’s family. His childhood was uplifted by his mother Maneckbai because his father Naorji Palanji Dordi expired when he was just four years old. He studied in the Elphinstone College in Bombay and after completing his studies he was appointed as the Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in the same college.

Naorji started with his political career in 1852. He strongly opposed the misrule of British Government and wrote several petitions to Governors and Viceroys regarding the sufferings of Indian people. There was no action taken to it and later he realized that this is because of the ignorance of Indian people. To promote education and propagate the seeds of Free India, he founded the Gyan Prasarak Mandal.

In 1855, Dadabhai left for England to join the first Indian business firm and later in 1859, he established his own business firm there. During his time in England, he endeavored to educate local people through various learned societies, articles and speeches. Most of his life he had spent writing on India’s plight, trying to influence people to realize the importance of freedom.

Naorji was the driving spirit of Indian National Congress and was elected three times as the President of the Congress in 1866, 1893 and 1906. He demanded for Swaraj, self government for India, publicly during his third term of presidentship and strongly opposed violence and revolutionary methods as means of attaining freedom.

This great noble life lived for almost a century and came to end on June 30, 1917. The people around the world still believe that Dadabhai came to earth with a mission to achieve Self-Rule for India.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel..

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, popularly known as a ‘Man of Steel’, was born on October 31, 1875 at Nadiad, Gujarat. He passsed his high school studies in Nadiad and came out with a strong desire to become a lawyer. Because of financial reasons he could not join any school of law so he studied at home and passed the law exam with flying colors.

Sardar started his legal practice in Godhra and at the age of 36, he went to England for further studies. He returned to India in 1913 and started his practice in Ahemdabad. He soon became a successful lawyer but his dream and career soon flourished.

Inspired by the work and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, he decided to join the freedom struggle. His first attempt was to fight for the cause of peasants in Kheda, Bardoli and other parts of Gujarat who were asked to pay heavy taxes to the British Government. Patel, under the leadership of Gandhi Ji, launched non-violent Civil Disobedience Movement against the payment of raised taxes. The Government tried to suppress the revolt but unfortunately could not do so. Finally, the taxes were suspended and thereafter everyone addressed Patel as Sardar. Further, he was also involved in Salt Satyagraha in Nagpur and Quit India Movement in 1942. He also opposed alcoholism, untouchability, caste discrimination and violence. In 1931, he was elected as the President of Indian National Congress.

After independence he was appointed as the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India. He had served the country during the tenure but Gandhi Ji’s death gave him a major heart attack and he died on December 15, 1950.

Bipin Chandra Pal..

Bipin Chandra Pal was one of the mightiest prophets of nationalism who fought bravely for a noble cause of India’s independence. He was a great patriot, orator, journalist and warrior, born on November 7, 1858 in Sylhet in a wealthy Kayastha family. He was admitted to Presidency College in Calcutta but unfortunately could not complete his education and started his career as a headmaster.

In the later years, while Bipin was working as a librarian in Calcutta public library he met many political leaders like Shivnath Shashtri, S.N Banerjee and B.K. Goswami. He was influenced to quit teaching and start up a new career in politics. He was further inspired by the work, philosophy, spiritual ideas and patriotism of Tilak, Lala and Aurbindo.

Being highly influenced and inspired by all these political leaders, Bipin decided to devote himself to the freedom struggle. He also went to England to study comparative ideology in 1898. In a span of one year he returned to Indi and since then he started preaching local Indians with the idea of Swaraj. Being a good journalist and orator he always used articles, speeches and other write ups to spread nationalism, humanity and social awareness and the need for complete independence.

Pal had ‘never say die’ attitude and with great courage he participated in Bombay session of Indian National Congress in 1904, Partition of Bengal in 1905, Swadeshi Movement, Non Cooperation Movement and Bengal Pact in 1923. He had also published a lot of journals, weekly and books to spread nationalism and the idea of Swaraj. Most prominent books of Pal include Indian Nationalism, Nationality and Empire, Swaraj and the Present Situation, The Basis of Social Reform, The Soul of India, The New Spirit and Studies in Hinduism.

Bipin was a great warrior and till the end he fought against ill practices of Indian culture and for freedom of India. He expired in 1932 leaving behind a remarkable feeling of Free India.

Sucheta Kriplani..

Sucheta Kriplani, a great freedom fighter, was born in June 1908 in Ambala. She took her education from Indraprastha College and Stephen College in Delhi. Soon 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. In her later years, she started working with Gandhi Ji. She was actively involved in Quit India Movement and the partition riots. She also worked to combat the sufferings of Indian people. 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.

Due to ill health Sucheta took retirement in 1971 and on December 1, 1974 she died of a massive heart attack.

Tantia Tope..

Tatia Tope, like other freedom fighters, was one of the great heroes who fought courageously for India’s freedom in 1857. He was born in 1814 in a village Yeola in Maharashtra. His father Pandurang Rao Tope shifted with Peshwa to Bithur. Tantia and the adopted sons, Nana Sahib and Maharaja Madhav, of Peshwa became good friends. All his loved ones called him Tatia because he always used to wear a hat that was gifted to him by Peshwa.

Tatia moved his first step against the British in 1851, when Lord Dalhousie deprived Nana Sahib of his father’s pension. In May 1857, he joined the political movements and established Nana Sahib’s authority. Britishers were trying to grab everything- the wealth, kingdom and the whole empire of the country. This became the biggest reason of discontent and revolt. He occupied Kanpur and then shifted to Kalpi to join Rani Lakshmi Bai to occupy Gwalior. Unfortunately, they lost the battle, Rani was killed and Britishers expanded their rule in Gwalior. After losing, he collected a huge force to fight against Britishers and was successful in capturing many forts of India. In Kalpi, he had established a center to manufacture arms. When he came to know that Britishers are short of resources, he took advantage of it and confronted Kanpur. Altogether, he fought 150 battles.

Tantia, the name of terror for the English, was the one who shook the established niche of the British Empire. He was constantly fighting to win over the whole of India but unfortunately he was betrayed by one of his friend. Britishers caught hold of him and hung him to death on April 18, 1859. This incident brought tears in all eyes and he became the Supreme Commander of India’s independence.

Khudiram Bose..

Khudiram Bose was born on December 3, 1889 in the village Medinipur of Bengal. He was the son of Trailokyanath Basu and Lakshmipriya Devi. He was one among the youngest revolutionaries of India’s freedom struggle.

Khudiram had always lived a virtuous and generous life. Since childhood he was fond of the sacred words of Vande Matram and in later years got inspired by the notions of karma and norms of Bhagvad Gita. During the partition of Bengal, discontent and anger against the Britishers compelled him to get involved in revolutionary activities. He was resolved to free India from the rule of British Empire. To learn more about the revolutionaries and their activities he joined Jugantar – the party of revolutionaries.

Bose, at the age of 16, threw the first bomb over the British who were crushing India. He had planted these bombs near the police station where many officials were killed. Further, he was arrested for placing a series of bomb but that was not the end. He along with his friend again planned to throw a bomb to assassinate the Chief Presidency Magistrate Kingsford who was known to make brutal and blatant judgments against freedom fighters.

Khudiram was arrested on the charges of bomb attack and was sentenced to death on August 11, 1908. He died with the holy book Bhagwad Gita in his hands and amiling with the slogan Vande Matram on his lips.