Category Freedom Struggle India

Rani Lakshmibai was the ruler of Jhansi, a princely state in North India. She played a leading role in the First War of Independence, and became a symbol of resistance to the arrogant rule of the British East India Company.

 After her husband’s death, the British refused to accept her young son as the next ruler, since he was adopted. She was ordered to hand over Jhansi to the Company, but she refused.

Rani Lakshmibai organized an army to defend Jhansi, and when the First War of Independence broke out, she joined the rebels. She led her soldiers in full warrior regalia, fought bravely mill determinedly, but was killed in the battle.

            Her unquenchable spirit, courage, and self respect gave the British sleepless nights. The story of the guts and sacrifice of this 19th century warrior queen is truly an inspiration for all Indians. 

Bhagat Singh was a national hero who gave a new wave to the revolutionary movement in India. To spread the message of revolution in Punjab, Bhagat formed a union of revolutionaries by the name ‘Naujawan Bharat Sabha’.

            Along with Chandrasekhar Azad, he later founded the ‘Hindustan Samajvadi Prajatantra Sangha’. When Lala Rajpat Rai died because of the brutality of the British police, Bhagat Singh vowed to avenge his death. He was determined to kill the British official named General Scott who was responsible for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.

            However, he killed assistant superintendent Saunders by mistake. Bhagat Singh was also responsible for a bomb blast in the Central Legislative Assembly on 8th April 1929.

            Bhagat Singh was captured, and was sentenced to death on 23rd March, 1931. At the tender age of 23, he became a martyr for the cause of India’s freedom, and his sacrifice will forever be remembered by a grateful nation.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar popularly has known as Veer Savarkar, occupies a prominent place in the history of India’s struggle for freedom. He was passionate about winning freedom from British rule, and boycotting foreign goods.

 In 1906, he went to London to study law. He founded the Free India Society in England, and advocated the use of arms to free India from the British. Veer Savarkar created a network of Indians in England, equipped with weapons. In 1908, Savarkar completed ‘The Indian War of Independence’, and the book was banned by the British. He was arrested in London on 13th March 1910, on some trumped up charges. The case against him was to be heard by a court in India.

During his journey to India, as the ship neared Marseilles in France, he jumped through the porthole, and swam to the shore. He was captured, and sentenced to 50 years rigorous life imprisonment on the Andaman Islands.

 However, in 1921, he was released from the jail, and spent the rest of his life as a social worker.

He was a bold warrior, poet, philosopher, and a great patriot. 

 Chandrasekhar Azad was a revolutionary, freedom fighter, and close associate of Bhagat Singh. He was a firebrand who terrorized the British with his bravery and guerilla tactics.

 The turning point in his life came during the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar in 1919. This incident left him shell-shocked, and filled his heart with anger and hatred for English rulers.

When he was caught by British police, and was presented before the magistrate, he was asked his name. In response, he said ‘Azad’ meaning independence. Since that day, Chandrasekhar assumed the title of Azad, and was known as Chandrasekhar Azad.

 Chandrasekhar Azad carried out several attacks on British officials, including the famous Kakori Train Robbery in 1925, and the assassination of J.P. Saunders in 1928.

Azad became the most wanted freedom fighter for British police. When he was finally tracked down, he kept fighting courageously, and killed three police-men. But his ammunition soon got over, and he shot himself in the head with his last bullet. He preferred to die rather than being caught by the British. 

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, its first deputy prime minister, were two towering figures in India’s freedom struggle.

Both were Mahatma Gandhi’s closest associates, and had enormous influence within the Congress Party. Yet both were very different from each other. Nehru and Patel’s economic views differed drastically. Nehru believed in a socialist India, while Patel believed in free enterprise. They also differed on their views about foreign policy and how to tackle the problems of communalism.

 In spite of all this, they worked together as fellow-members of the Congress and colleagues in the Congress Working Committee. They were soldiers in the struggle for freedom, and were both devoted followers of Gandhiji.

 Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel shared the great burden of administration of independent India, for which the nation owes them a tremendous debt of gratitude. 

  The Kheda Satyagraha was launched in 1918 under the leadership of Gandhiji and Sardar Patel. Kheda in Gujarat was a poverty stricken region that had just suffered a severe famine. The poor farmers who lived there were heavily taxed by the British. Because of the drought, they found it impossible to pay the taxes as their crops had been destroyed.

The British, however, refused to lower the taxes, or give them any concessions whatsoever. Gandhiji, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and other leaders mobilized the farmers and spearheaded a historic revolt against the British. The peasants just refused to pay the taxes. The movement gathered a lot of support from different communities.

Continue reading “Why is the Kheda Satyagraha famous?”

India played a significant role in World War I. When the war broke out in 1914, there was growing political unrest in India against the British rule.

 However, when war was declared, India rallied behind Britain. Those with influence within India believed that the cause of Indian independence would best be served by helping out Britain in whatever capacity India could.

Offers of financial and military help were made from all over the country, especially from the princes. Indian troops were on the Western Front by the winter of 1914, and fought at the first Battle of Ypres.

In total, 10,000,00 Indian troops fought in all the theatres of the war. Of these, 74,187 were classed as killed or missing, with 67,000 wounded.

India expected to be rewarded with a major move towards independence, or at the least, self-government. When it became obvious that this was not going to happen, the Independence Movement became stronger. 

 The Lucknow Pact was an agreement that was signed in 1916 after both the Congress and the Muslim League realized that they would have to jointly demand self rule for India.

The Congress was led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, while Mohammed Ali Jinnah represented the League. Jinnah was then member of both the League and the Congress, and the chief architect of the pact. In fact, he was hailed as ‘the Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity’.

The Lucknow Pact also saw the reconciliation between the extremists and the moderate factions of the Indian National Congress. In addition, it witnessed the meeting of two leaders—Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru—for the first time on a platform, which changed the course of Indian politics and history. 

The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms were the measures taken by the British Government in 1918 to introduce self-governing institutions gradually to India.

The reforms take their name from Edwin Montagu, the British Secretary of State for India at that time, and Lord Chelmsford, the British Viceroy in India from 1916 to 1921.

The reforms introduced the principle of a dual mode of administration, or diarchy, in which both elected Indian legislators and appointed British officials shared power. They also expanded the central and provincial legislatures.

Agriculture, local government, health, education, and public works, were handed over to Indians, while more sensitive matters such as finance, taxation and maintaining law and order were retained by the provincial British administrators. These reforms represented the maximum concessions the British were prepared to make at that time. 

   In 1917, a committee was set up under Sir Sydney Rowlatt to look into the militant activities of the Indian freedom fighters.

On the basis of its report, the Rowlatt Act was passed in March 1919 by the Imperial Legislative Council. The Rowlatt Act gave the Viceroy extraordinary powers to quell the rising discontent of the Indian masses.

 According to this act, any person could be arrested on the basis of suspicion. No appeal or petition could be filed against such arrests. This act was called the ‘black Act’ and it was widely opposed.

 An all-India hartal was organized on 6th April 1919. People came out in support of the hartal in various cities. Shops were shut down, and workers in railway workshops went on strike.

 The British administration decided to clamp down on the nationalists. But the Rowlatt Act could not crush the will of the people. Instead, it only strengthened the resolve of the Indians not to give up the struggle until India attained independence. 

 After the Non-cooperation Movement was withdrawn, there was some confusion in the Congress as to what the next course of action should be.

 Elections were scheduled to be held in 1923, and many leaders were eager to contest, and enter the legislative assembly so that they could bring about some changes.

 One such leader was C. R. Das, who resigned as president of the Congress. Along with Motilal Nehru and N.C. Kelkar, he launched a new political outfit called ‘Congress Khilafat Swarajya Party’, or simply, the ‘Swaraj Party’. These leaders did win the elections, but the political climate was such that they could not really bring about any changes.

 The Swaraj Party played a significant role in the Freedom Movement by keeping alive the hunger for freedom, and fostering Hindu-Muslim unity. 

January 26th is celebrated as our Republic Day. But 20 years before India became a republic, the date 26th January had great significance for Indians. For it was on this day, in 1930, that the Indian National Congress declared Purna Swaraj, or complete freedom from the British Raj as its goal.

 One option before the Congress was to demand dominion status, under which India would have still remained at least nominally under British rule. The Congress rejected this option, and instead asked for Purna Swaraj, which means complete independence. The Congress declared 26th January as ‘Independence Day’.

Continue reading “Why was January 26th 1930, an important day for India?”

Gandhiji’s Dandi March encouraged millions of Indians to defy the British by breaking the unfair salt laws of the British. Indians started making or buying salt illegally.

The non-violent satyagrahis did not defend themselves against the lathis of policemen, and many were killed instantly. The country was outraged. Gandhiji asked the people to give up wearing foreign cloth, and start using rough cotton khadi made of yarn spun by the charkha, or the wooden spinning wheel.

 This would not only undermine Britain’s economic power, but also give employment to the poor in the country-side. All over India, piles of foreign cloth and foreign goods were burnt. It was civil disobedience on a scale never seen before.

The British administration was nearly paralyzed. The Viceroy, who had laughed at Gandhiji’s ‘crazy scheme of upsetting the government with a pinch of salt’, learnt that a pinch of salt could be more powerful than the mightiest cannon!

  The Salt March, which took place from March to April 1930, was an act of civil disobedience led by Gandhiji. His actions sent shockwaves across the nation.

 Indians all over the country were inspired to flout the salt Tax, and launch strikes and boycotts against colonial institutions. Gandhiji and some 80,000 others were arrested.

 In January 1931, Gandhiji was released from prison. He later met with the then Viceroy, Lord Irwin. In March 1931, the two worked out the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. According to this pact, Gandhiji agreed to end the Satyagraha in exchange for several concessions.

Continue reading “What was the aftermath of the Dandi Salt March?”

  Britain’s Salt Acts prohibited Indians from collecting, or selling salt. Citizens were forced to buy salt from the British, who taxed it heavily. Gandhiji reasoned that defying the Salt Tax would be a simple and effective way for many Indians to break a British law without using violence.

 On March 12th, 1930, Gandhiji set out from his ashram at Sabarmati near Ahmadabad, with his followers, to the coastal town of Dandi. All along the way, Gandhiji addressed large crowds, and with each passing day an increasing number of people joined the march.

By the time they reached Dandi on April 5th, Gandhiji was at the head of a crowd of tens of thousands. Then, early the next morning, he walked down to the sea, and reached down to pick up a small lump of natural salt out of the mud. By this small act, he defied the British law, and created a huge impact.

 Nationalists led crowds of citizens in making salt, and Gandhiji’s Salt March put India firmly on the road to freedom. 

  Subhash Chandra Bose was a patriot right from his earliest years. He was a brilliant student who excelled at his studies, but was asked to leave Presidency College in Calcutta for assaulting a professor who made anti-India comments. He later cracked the civil services examination after his graduation, and secured a job with the civil service department, but quit because he did not want to work under the British.

Continue reading “What do we know about Subhash Chandra Bose’s earlier years?”

Subhash Chandra Bose led a serious armed struggle against the British during the Second World War. In 1943, he went to Japan to plan an attack on the British and win independence for India with Japan’s help.

Bose took charge of the famous Indian National Army also known as the INA or the Azad Hind Fauj, which was formed with the help of Rash Behari Bose and Mohan Singh. It is here that Subhash Chandra Bose came to known as Netaji.

 The INA set up an independent government in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It then entered into India through Burma, and captured Kohima after severe fighting with the British army. The INA tried to capture Imphal also but Japan was having troubles of its own, and could not give the help expected.

Continue reading “What was the role of the INA in India’s freedom struggle?”

 The Quit India Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, at the Bombay Session of the All India Congress Committee.

A resolution was passed demanding an immediate end to the British rule. A mass non-violent struggle was organized on the widest scale possible. Gandhiji’s slogan of ‘Do or Die’ inspired millions of Indians, and strengthened their determination to die rather than give up the goal of freedom. The British response to the movement was quick. The Congress was banned, and most of its leaders were arrested before they could start mobilizing the people.

The people, however, were unstoppable. They attacked all symbols of the British government such as railway stations, law courts, and police stations. Railway lines were damaged, and telegraph lines were cut. In some places, people even formed alternative governments. The British responded with terrible brutality.

 However, though they could oppress the people, they could not suppress the people’s demand that foreign rulers should quit India. 

The British were prepared for a massive uprising by the Indians. Within a few hours of a speech by Gandhiji calling for an orderly withdrawal of the British from Indian soil, the top leaders of the Indian National Congress leaders were swiftly arrested.

Continue reading “How did the British respond to the Quit India Movement?”

 Jayaprakash Narayan or JP as he was lovingly called was a disciple of Gandhiji, a political leader and social reformer.

Narayan became secretary of the Congress party when Nehru was its leader. When all the other party leaders were arrested, Narayan carried on the struggle against the British. He was one of the frontrunners of the Quit India Movement.

During World War II, Narayan became a national hero by leading violent opposition to the British. He engineered strikes, train wrecks, and riots. Jayaprakash Narayan met Ram Manohar Lohia, Minoo Masani, Ashok Mehta, and other national leaders when he was put behind bars in 1932 because of the civil disobedience movement.

After JP came out of jail, he along with others established the Congress Socialist Party. JP was repeatedly jailed by the British during the freedom struggle, and his escapes and heroic activities captured the public’s imagination. 

Between 1916 and 1918, prominent Indian leaders and patriots decided to organize a national alliance of leagues across India, specifically to demand home rule.

The Home Rule Movement was aimed at bringing about self-government for India in the British Empire, as well to work towards national education, and political reforms.

Continue reading “What was the Home Rule Movement?”

  Though the partition of Bengal was in 1905, the partition proposals had been in the public eye as early as 1903.

 The strong sense of unity among Bengalis, as well as the cultural development of 19th century, and the spread of western education all gave birth to a vehement resistance to the idea of dividing Bengal.

 The Swadeshi Movement had its roots in this anti-partition movement. Its chief architects were Aurobindo Ghosh, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, and Lala Lajpat Rai.

 The Swadeshi Movement began as an economic boycott of all foreign goods and the promotion of domestic production and manufacturing processes. Later on, the economic boycott receded into background with the passage of time, and it developed into an idea of non-cooperation with the British in every field. 

In 1905, Lord Curzon, the British Viceroy decided that Bengal should be partitioned into two. Though the British claimed that this drastic step was taken for administrative purposes, the real motive was to curb the growth of nationalism in Bengal.

 The Bengalis believed that the British wanted to drive a wedge between the Bengali speaking Hindus and Muslims. They accused the British of trying to destroy the solidarity of the Bengali people. The partition of Bengal raised a great political storm in India. Grounds were prepared for a country-wide agitation.

The Indian National Congress and the nationalists of Bengal firmly opposed it. The partition led to a widespread agitation which assumed the shape of a national movement. This movement became famous in history as the Swadeshi Movement.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was instrumental in setting India on the path to freedom. 

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was widely respected because of his knowledge and intellect. He was, in fact, considered to be the political guru of the Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.

Gokhale was one of the first Indians who completed graduation. Higher education made him understand the importance of liberty, democracy, and parliamentary system.

One of the founders of the Indian independence movement, he was a social reformer who constantly raised his voice against the policies of the British government. His efforts ensured that Indians had access to seats of the highest authority within the government.

He was a writer, and through his articles he tried to awaken our pride in our motherland and the hunger for liberty. Gopal Krishna Gokhale was instrumental in setting India on the path to freedom. 

 The names Lal, Bal and Pal refer to three great patriots, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal. They led the movement for Indian independence in the early 20th century, and launched the Swadeshi Movement. The three leaders changed the political discourse of the Independence movement.

This movement called for a boycott of all foreign goods and the use of only Indian goods. The three patriots organized demonstrations and strikes against the British.

Continue reading “Who were the patriots referred to as Lal, Bal and Pal?”

Eleven hundred kilometres south of Singapore lies Christmas Island which was under the control of the British in 1942. Britain maintained a small force that employed Indian soldiers on the island.

 From the beginning of World War II, Christmas Island was a target for Japanese occupation, because of its rich deposits of phosphates. During the night of 11th March 1942, a mutiny of the Indian troops, abetted by Sikh policemen, led to the murder of the five British soldiers and the imprisonment of the remaining Europeans on the island. This was known as the Christmas Island Mutiny.

Soon after, Japanese bombers launched an attack on the island, and a Japanese fleet, including cruiser Naka arrived. Because of the mutiny by Indian soldiers, Japanese troops were able to occupy Christmas Island without any resistance.

The mutiny did play a role in hastening Britain’s decision to withdraw from India, and give India its independence. 

Bal Gangadhar Tilak joined the other freedom fighters in their struggle for independence. He was the first Indian nationalist to embrace Swaraj or freedom from British rule, as the destiny of the nation.

Tilak sparked the spirit of freedom among the people through his two weekly newspapers. In 1905, he called for a boycott of British goods, and started a campaign of passive resistance to British rule aimed at preparing the people for independence. He was arrested and imprisoned, and soon acquired the status of a hero among the masses.

It was Tilak who raised the famous slogan, `Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it…’ words that continue to inspire Indians to this very day.

The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885. It was the result of the effort of a number of educated Indians who were highly discontented with the exploitative nature of the British rule. In the beginning, its objective was to get a bigger share in government for enlightened Indians.

 Inspired by A.O. Hume, a retired British civil servant, seventy three delegates met in Bombay for the first time. The first president of the Indian National Congress, or INC, was W. C. Banerjee. As time passed, the nature of the INC changed, and it became very active in the movement for Indian independence.

 After independence, the Congress, which was till then a national movement, became a political party. 

   Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a great social reformer, and one of the architects of modern India. He was a staunch supporter of the theory of oneness of God, and he was totally against caste rigidity, polygamy, sati, and superstitions.

 In order to give practical shape to his ideals, and to take them to the people, he founded Brahmo Samaj. Raja Ram Mohan Roy had a profound influence in the fields of politics, public administration, and education as well as religion.

 He forced the British government to provide equality to the people of India in getting appointments in the administration, and in the army.

 He also made some serious efforts to free the print media from the control of the government, and to uphold freedom of thought. All these reforms helped the leaders of the national movement to march forward on the path to independence. 

 In 19th century, India witnessed a series of social and religious reforms that contributed to the rise of nationalism.

Continue reading “What were the reforms in India during the 19th century?”

 The colonization of what is now known as the Jharkhand region by the East India Company resulted in spontaneous resistance from the local tribes.

 In fact, the tribals frequently engaged the British in armed Struggle in order to take control of their lands. Birsa Munda was a tribal leader and folk hero belonging to the Munda tribe.

The ‘Ulgulan’- meaning ‘great tumult’ was a revolt spearheaded by Birsa Munda, which created panic among the British.

Though the revolt initially started in the Munda, it soon spread to other areas. It was also the last organized armed tribal revolt in Jharkhand. Birsa Munda’s forces fought long and hard. However, they were no match for the superior firepower of the British. The revolt was quelled, and Birsa was killed – a martyr to the cause of freedom. 

  

 The Santhal Rebellion was one of the most serious challenges faced by the British in the first century of its rule.

 The Santhals were freedom-loving people who lived in what is now present day Jharkhand. However, the atrocities they had to put up with, both from the landlords, and the East India Company, led to an armed revolt by them.

Continue reading “What was the Santhal Rebellion?”

The founder of the Kuka Movement was believed to be Bhagat Jawahar Mal. It started as a religious movement with a view to reforming the Sikh religion.

The Kuka Movement sought to abolish the caste system in the Sikhism, and create a society based on equality. It advocated woman’s freedom, and discouraged non-vegetarianism.

In time, the Kuka Movement turned into a political struggle against the British. Ram Singh Kuka, one of the famous leaders of the Kuka Movement, believed in the policy of non-cooperation with the British. He gave a call to his followers to boycott British goods, government schools, and government posts.

As the movement picked up momentum, the British reacted violently, crushed the movement, and killed many Kuka freedom fighters. Ram Singh, known to his followers as Satguru, gave a call to his followers for boycott of British goods. He was deported by the British to Burma, where he died in 1885.

 The Kuka Revolt is also known as the Namdhari Movement. 

After the failure of the First Round Table Conference, the British Government decided to try for a compromise with Gandhiji, who had been arrested and put in prison.

On 26th January 1931, Gandhiji was released from prison along with other Congress leaders. The Viceroy invited Gandhiji to Delhi for talks, and the result of these talks was the Gandhi-Irwin Pact.

 The pact was a political agreement that was signed between Mahatma Gandhi and the then Viceroy of India, Lord Irwin, on 5th March 1931. According to this agreement, it was decided that the Civil Disobedience Movement would be discontinued, and that steps would be taken for the Congress to participate in the Second Round Table Conference.

 The pact was welcomed as a triumph for the Congress, but there were many who felt that the demands of the Indians had not been given due recognition. 

 The three Round Table Conferences of 1930-32 were a series of conferences that were organized to chalk out the future constitution of India in the light of suggestions given by the Indian leaders.

 The First Round Table Conference was held from 12th November 1930 to 19th January 1931. The Congress boycotted the conference as its demand for a discussion on ‘Purna Swaraj’ of India was rejected by the British Government.

Continue reading “What were the Round Table Conferences?”

The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny, also known as the Bombay Mutiny, took place in 1946. The mutiny was sparked by the arrogance of the British officers. It started as a strike by the Indian sailors to protest against the hardships regarding pay, food, and racial discrimination.

 It began on board the ships as well as the shore establishments at Bombay harbour on 18th February 1946. From the initial flashpoint in Bombay, the revolt spread, and found support throughout British India, from Karachi to Calcutta.

 It ultimately involved 66 ships, shore establishments, and 10,000 sailors. The mutineers hoisted three flags tied together on the ships which they had captured -one of Congress, one of Muslim League, and the third, the red flag of the Communist Party of India.

 The mutiny was ended by the intervention of Sardar Patel. 

Soon after India won her hard earned independence, the celebrations were cut short by the tragedy of communal riots that followed the partition of India.

The actual transfer of power to India and Pakistan proved to be bloody and bitter. Hindus living for generations in what was to become Pakistan had to flee their homes overnight.

At the same time, millions of Muslims abandoned their homes to cross the border into Pakistan. In the chaotic days and months following the independence of India and Pakistan, violence multiplied as religious sentiment intensified, and there was little in the way of police or military to maintain law and order.

Continue reading “What was the tragedy that shadowed the joy of independence?”

In the year 1950, the Republic of India was born, the year that India took its rightful place among the sovereign nations of the world. India, under Gandhiji had struggled through decades of passive resistance, before Britain finally accepted Indian independence.

On August 15th 1947, what should have been one united nation became two separate, independent nations of India and Pakistan.

After independence was won in 1947, India’s Parliament wrote a constitution that changed India’s status as a dominion of the British Empire to a fully independent republic, a federated nation, and a union of states.

 This constitution became the law on 26th January 1950, which is celebrated as India’s Republic Day. The new nation faced many challenges. These included the integration of the former princely states into the Indian union, and dealing with movements for greater autonomy in some states. Yet, it could hold up its head with pride as having emerged as the world’s largest democracy- and one that has inspired others to seek freedom through a non-violent revolution. 

Writers and poets played an important role in India’s independence movement for them breathed life into the concepts and visions of freedom. The Movement, just like the French revolution, witnessed a lot of literary works that motivate the Indians to fight till the end.

 Both known and unknown poets kept the spirit of freedom alive even during the bleakest hours of the struggle with their immortal words.

Rabindranath Tagore, Muhammad lqbal, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Subramania Bharati, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Sri Aurobindo, and Gandhiji himself are just some of the names that come instantly to the mind. These writings were not only in English but in the regional languages as well.

 As the freedom movement strengthened and attracted more sections of the people, it was the poets, writers and journalists who cemented the people’s resolve never to give up till freedom was won. 

 The colonial period in India set off an explosion of poetry, both in English and the regional languages. The poems were revolutionary, and brimming with nationalism.

 In the North, the poetry of Ajit Singh, Nandal Noorpoori, and others inspired mass movements and revolutionary activities.

From Bengal, two immortal songs- Vande mataram by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Rabindranath Tagore’s Jana Gana Mana- are just some of the works that stir our hearts and souls to this very day.

In the South, Subramania Bharati’s first collection of poems was titled ‘Songs of Freedom’ and his words consolidated the spirit of devotion and patriotism, struggle and sacrifice. The poetry of Wajid Ali Shah in Lucknow and Ghalib and Bahadur Shah Zafar in Delhi, along with many others, all lyrically ushered in the dawn of freedom.

Rabindranath Tagore was a scholar, freedom fighter, writer and painter, but above all, he was a patriot. He wrote poems, songs, and stories about different aspects of India’s culture and society.

Tagore had a profound influence on Bengali literature and music and he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for his collection of poems titled ‘Gitanjali’. He wrote both in Bengali and English, and his works proved to be path breaking and revolutionary.

 The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre filled him with such anguish that he returned the knighthood that the British Government had bestowed upon him. Two of his poems have become the national anthems of two countries- India and Bangladesh-while many others are so charged with emotion and patriotism, that they inspire millions to this very day. 

 Subramania Bharati is considered to be one of the greatest Tamil poets. Most of his works were on religious, political, and social themes.

 The Partition of Bengal on 28th September 1905 brought Bharati, like many others, more actively in the public and political life through movements of boycott and Swadeshi.

 He attended the Congress session at Benares in 1905, with Gokhale as President, and also the next session at Calcutta, with Dadabhai as President. He became a champion of women’s rights and welfare and wrote ‘Nations are made of homes. And so long as you do not have justice and equality fully practiced at home; you cannot expect to see them practiced in your public life’.

 Bharati believed in equal freedom for all without distinction of caste, class, and creed, as is evident in his poetry. In fact, for Bharati, poetry was life, and his life was poetry. 

Muhammad lqbal was a great poet, and philosopher. He is commonly referred to as Allama lqbal.

Iqbal attacked both Hindu and Muslim fanaticism, ridiculed orthodox mullahs and pandits, and exhorted not only Indians but Asians against western imperialism. Iqbal’s vision of an independent state for the Muslims of British India was to inspire the creation of Pakistan.

Iqbal will always be remembered for his most famous poem – ‘Sare Jahaan Se Achha’. This poem became a symbol of resistance to the English rule of British-occupied India.

 It is one of the enduring patriotic poems in the Urdu language. The lyrics are so simple, elegant, rhythmic, and beautiful.

The musical composition is so melodious that lqbal’s ‘Sare Jahaan Se Achha’ moves and inspires everyone who hears it. 

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, a great Bengali novelist, poet, and nationalist of the 19th century, had the exceptional gift of being able to communicate with, and arouse the masses.

A nationalist to the core, his goal was to revive national pride and by doing so, to fight for freedom from the British.

 In 1882, he published a novel Anandamath that became his most famous, as well as his most political novel. It proved to be a source of inspiration for patriots fighting to throw off the yoke of British rule, and the chant of Vande Mataram was coined from this book.

Continue reading “What is Bankim Chandra Chatterjee most famous for?”

Known as the ‘Nightingale of India’, Sarojini Naidu was a distinguished poet and renowned freedom fighter. She joined the Indian national movement in the wake of the Bengal Partition in 1905.

 During the freedom struggle, she became a follower of Gandhiji, and devoted herself to emancipation of women, education, Hindu-Muslim unity, and other patriotic and social causes.

Continue reading “What was the role of the poet Sarojini Naidu in the freedom struggle?”

Vallathol Narayana Menon is one of the greatest poets of Kerala, who was also a nationalist and patriot. He participated in India’s freedom struggle, and reawakened our pride in our national heritage and identity.

A follower of Gandhiji, he was a participant of many national movements. Vallathol, as he was lovingly called, attended the All India Conferences of the Indian Congress in 1922 and 1927. His beautiful verses urged the masses to hold aloft the torch of freedom.

 Vallathol’s songs in praise of his country also depicted her suffering under the British rule, and awakened millions of Indians to the glory of their motherland.

He also wrote against caste restriction, tyrannies and orthodoxies.

Through him, Kerala’s voice could be heard loud and clear during the protests against the British.

 India awoke to freedom on 15th August, 1947. The journey to freedom was one filled with sacrifice and suffering, but the people of India never lost heart. Whenever their steps faltered, their leaders were there to urge them on by example, and with stirring slogans.

The most famous of these was ‘Jai Hind’ which was first used by Subhash Chandra Bose. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s ‘Vande Mataram’ was also a war cry for the freedom fighters. ‘Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it,’ said Lokamanya Tilak.

Continue reading “What are some of the slogans of the freedom movement?”