Some unheard stories of freedom fighters

As we celebrate 75 years of independence, here are some unheard stories of our freedom fighters.

Golden girl kanaklata  

The 16 years old kanaklata was determined to participate in the hoisting of the flag on Gohpur police station close to her house.

It was a period of turmoil in the country and talk of freedom was in the air. Like many other youngsters of her time, Kanaklata Barua felt a passionate desire to help free her motherland. She had lost her parents, one after the other by the time she was 14 and was brought up by her grandparents.

Call to hoist the tricolour on police stations

 On September 18, 1942, a few weeks after the 'Quit India' resolution had been passed, a leader from Tejpur, Assam, gave instructions to hoist the tricolour on all police stations and government buildings in the district. The 16-year-old Kanaklata was determined to participate in the hoisting of the flag on Gohpur Police Station close to her house. The people had been asked to gather at a place some distance away from the police station on the morning of September 20. Kanaklata finished her household chores. Then she said to her younger sister, "Let us have breakfast together. God alone knows whether we shall meet again." Kanaklata led one of the groups that advanced towards the police station shouting slogans like 'Glory to Mother India' and 'Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai'.

The officer in charge of the police station warned them not to advance but Kanaklata pressed forward saying, "Don't try to stop us! We shall leave only after putting the flag up!"

Felled by police bullets

The police opened fire. Some people from the group turned and fled, but Kanaklata continued to press fonward. The police fired again and Kanaklata was hit in the chest. Others around her were also felled by the bullets but now they were very close to the police station and one member of the group, Ram Pati Rajkhoa snatched the flag from the dying Kanaklata, climbed to the top of the police station and planted the flag there.

Her sister and her grandparents broke down when her comrades brought her body home. But Kanaklata would not have wanted it any other way. If she had had another life to give, she would have perhaps gladly given away that too for her beloved country.

Robin Hood of the Godavari

From the jungles of the Rampa region in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh emerged a young hero who galvanised the local Adivasi tribals to rise against the British Raj in the 1920s. His name was Alluri Sitarama Raju. The Madras Forest Act had severely affected the tribal way of life. It prevented the tribals from engaging in the traditional method of shifting cultivation and collecting forest produce. They ended up being exploited for cheap or free labour by the British.

Raju channelled the tribal discontent into an anti-British force. He realised that mere bows and arrows were not enough. So he conducted lightning strikes on police stations, raiding their arsenal of guns and ammunition. He would announce the date and time of attack and even enter the details of the loot in the station diary!

For two years from 1922-1924, Raju and his guerrilla fighters terrorised the British. A bounty of Rs 10,000 was placed on his head and special forces were drafted to combat his men. No amount of persuasion could sway the local people from being loyal to Raju. They called him 'Manyam Veerudu (Hero of the Jungle). It was only after Raju was caught and shot dead on May 7, 1924 that the British heaved a sigh of relief.

Young braveheart

In 1938, Dhenkanal (in Odisha) was up in arms against the repressive measures of the local kings who were British loyalists. The British force was hot on the trail of Veer Baishnav Pattanayak, a revolutionary who was stirring up villagers against them. They arrived at the village of Bhuban on October 10, 1938 to nab him, but he escaped. A troop of British soldiers chased him, but they were stopped in their tracks by an ordinary boy of extraordinary courage. Baji Raut was a 13-year-old boatman of Nilakanthapur village who was standing guard at a ghat on River Brahmi. When the British platoon arrived and demanded to be ferried across, Baji Raut refused. A furious soldier attacked the boy with the butt of his rifle, fracturing his skull. The boy was fatally injured, yet he managed to raise an alarm, alerting the villagers. A soldier bayoneted him, while another shot him. Enraged villagers rushed to the riverbank. The platoon panicked and hastily retreated in Baji Raut's boat while firing away at the mob, killing four more.

Baishnav Pattanayak took the bodies of Baji Raut and the four villagers to Cuttack to give them a hero's farewell. In 1943, Sachidananda Routray, the father of modern Odia poetry, immortalised the boy's sacrifice in his poem, Baji Raut.

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HOW DID MAHATAMA GANDHI FIGHT FOR FREEDOM?

From being an advocate to a freedom fighter, the legacy of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is nothing short of extraordinary. History remembers him as the man whose unflinching courage and persistence shook the British to the core. His message of peace, forgiveness, tolerance and freedom has never been more relevant than today. Let us take a walk in the shoes of the Mahatma who gave the world the gift of Ahimsa.

On 8th August 1942. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi addressed the masses from the Gwalior tank maidan in Bombay (now) Mumbai), during a historic session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). This marked the beginning of Bharat Chhodo Andolan or the Quit India movement.

Cooperation and World War II By 1939, events from other countries had begun to find their resonance in India. The Second World War had broken out and the Indian leaders fully sympathised with the victims of fascist forces. But an enslaved nation could not be drawn into the war.

Britain was pressured by the Allied forces (U.S., USSR and China) to exert its influence and seek Indian cooperation in their war efforts. Upon negotiation, the Indian political leaders agreed to comply. but only if they were guaranteed a complete transfer of power and independence in exchange.

On 8 August 1942, unable to reach a consensus with the imperialists, India's freedom movement headed towards its tumultuous final campaign. The Quit India Movement (also known as August Kranti) saw Gandhiji motivate the populous "to do or die" until the British quit India.

The Britishers ruthless response to this was imprisonment without trial. The entire Congress leadership including Gandhiji was arrested the following morning.

But the fight for liberation continued. The masses took to the streets to protest against the colonisers brutality By now, the freedom movement had inculcated a dominant feeling of oneness in the heart of the average Indian and a unique unity in diversity prevailed.

What followed was the entire country invigorated by the spirit of nationlism looking forward to end of colonial rule with a sense of urgency.

Unity in diversity

"I believe that in the history of the world, there has not been a more genuinely democratic struggle for freedom than ours...Once you realise this you will forget the differences between the Hindus and Muslims. and think of yourselves as Indians only, engaged in the common struggle for independence" (excerpt from the Quit India speech)

The Muslim League led by a Bombay based barrister Mohammad Ali Jinnah propagated the theory that Hindus and Muslims belonged to two different Nations

Gandhiji opposed this idea vehemently. For him, secularism was the foundation of India's freedom movement. He quoted that since ancient times our people have always been sensitive to the fact that the welfare of a society depended on a consensual and accommodative intercommunity network. According to him one's identity is never solely bound to the religion he or she subscribes to.

The power of ahimsa

7 and my Ahimsa are on our trail today in the present crisis, when the earth is being scorched by the flames of Himsa and crying for deliverance" (Excerpt from the Quit India speech)

Many scholars have drawn a parallel between Gandhiji's practice of ahimsa and the Christian ideology of tuming the other cheek. Historian Mridula Mukherjee looking back at Gandhiji's attempts to put an end to the 1947 Calcutta riots, suggests that his willingness to suffer for the sake of humanity had a tremendous moral appeal that inspired devotion in his followers.

Gandhiji's non-violence was conscious suffering of the flesh that demanded universal love and supported his vision of a free India Author Arundhati Roy calls Ahimsa India's greatest gift to the world.

The mantra

"Here is a mantra, a short one, that I give you. You may imprint it on your hearts and let every breath of yours give expression to it. The mantra is: Do or Die. We shall either free India or die in the attempt we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery.. "(excerpt from the Quit India speech) Gandhiji's clarion call "Karo ya Maro", "Do or die" set in motion a series of events that finally ended the British Raj in India.

Did you know?

  1. The iconic 'Quit India' slogan was coined by socialist Congress leader and lesser-known hero of the Indian National movement Yusuf Meher Ali in 1942.
  2. Historians suggest that the title of Mahatma was bestowed on Gandhiji by Rabindranath Tagore.
  3. The title of Father of the Nation was given to the Mahatma by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
  4. Gandhiji was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times but was never bestowed with the honour.
  5. 0 Gandhiji's birthday (2nd October) is commemorated worldwide as International Day of Non-Violence.
  6. 30th January the day Gandhiji was assassinated is observed as Martyrs Day or Shaheed Diwas, in India.

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When was the Sahitya Academy founded?

The Sahitya Akademi, also called ‘India’s National Academy of Letters’ was founded on 12 March 1954. It was formed as a cultural collaboration of all those interested in creative and critical literature and is dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Its office is located in Rabindra Bhavan near Mandi House in Delhi.

In his inaugural address, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan noted that, “It is the purpose of this Akademi to recognize men of achievement in letters, to encourage men of promise in letters, to educate public taste and to improve standards of literature and literary criticism”.

The Council elected Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as its president and he continued in that capacity until his death in 1964. The Council clarified that the choice of Nehru was “not because he is Prime Minister, but because he has carved out for himself a distinctive place as a writer and author.”

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How did ISRO begin?

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is India’s national space agency. ISRO began as the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) and was established by Jawaharlal Nehru under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in 1962.

The Indian Space programme was founded by Vikram Sarabhai under the aegis of Nehru who, like him, believed that modern science and technology were indispensible to the development of the country.

ISRO built India’s first satellite ‘Aryabhata’ which was launched on 19 April 1975 with Russian help. ISRO was the world’s first space agency to find water on the Moon and send a satellite to Mars orbit in its first attempt.

ISRO has the world’s largest constellation of remote-sensing satellites and is one of six government space agencies in the world which possess full launch capabilities. Over the years, ISRO has played a significant role in the socio-economic development of India and established India’s place in the elite space club with its successful Mars Mission. It has always believed in greater self-reliance in space technology and envisions manned landings on the Moon and other planets in the future.

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When did Indira Gandhi become the prime minister of India?

Indira Gandhi was the prime minister of India between 1966 and 1977 and from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. The only child of Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamala Nehru, she remains till date, the only female Prime Minister of India.

She was educated at the University of Oxford, where she studied history, political science and economics. Post India’s independence, Indira Gandhi managed the official residence of her father and accompanied him on numerous foreign trips.

After her father’s death she was appointed as a member of the Rajya Sabha and became the Minister of information and Broadcasting in Lal Bahadur Shastri’s Cabinet. She later defeated her rival Morarji Desai and succeeded Shastri as the Prime Minister of India.

In 2020, Time Magazine named Indira Gandhi among the world’s 100 most powerful women who defined the 20th Century.

She was assassinated in 1984 while in office. Her son Rajiv Gandhi also served the country as prime minister from 1984 to 1989. Sadly, he too was assassinated in 1991.

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Which are some of the awards associated with Jawaharlal Nehru?

The most prestigious award received by Jawaharlal Nehru was the ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1955 – India’s highest civilian honour. President Rajendra Prasad conferred this honour on him without consulting him, the prime minister, as was the normal constitutional procedure.

The ‘Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding’ is an international award presented by the Government of India in honour of Nehru.

The award was established in 1965 and was first awarded to U Thant, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations. Some of the other famous recipients of the award are Martin Luther King Jr., Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.

The ‘Nehru Trophy’ is awarded to the fastest snake boat in the snake boat race or ‘VaIlam Kali’ held in Kerala’s Alappuzha district in the month of August. The race was inaugurated in 1952 by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

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What is The Discovery of India about?

Nehru wrote The Discovery of India when he was imprisoned for his participation in the Quit India movement between 1942 and 1945, at Ahmednagar Fort, Maharashtra.

It traces the transition of India from the time of the Indus Valley Civilization till the last years of the British Raj. Nehru used his knowledge of the Upanishads, Vedas and textbooks on ancient history to document changes in the socio-political scenario of India brought about by foreign invaders up till present-day conditions. In this book, Nehru makes his case for India’s independence based on her historical and cultural identity. It has 10 chapters.

Nehru attributed some of the content of the book to his fellow prisoners at Ahmednagar jail, namely Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Govind Ballabh Pant, Narendra Deva and Asaf Ali. They provided valuable historical insights and suggestions to Nehru during his work.

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What is the significance of Letters from a Father to His Daughter?

Nehru wrote a series of letters to his daughter Indira Priyadarshini, when she was 10 years old. They were compiled into a book named Letters from a Father to His Daughter which was published in 1929 by the Allahabad Law Journal Press, at Nehru’s request.

Nehru was a loving father who wanted to share his experiences and knowledge with his child. Since he was in prison for long stretches of time, he developed the habit of writing letters to Indira to try and bridge the gap with her. His letters were in the style of conversations explaining the subjects of natural and human history.

In many sections, Nehru’s love for the environment is evident and the illustrations are an added boon.

The book was translated into Hindi by Munshi Premchand as Pita Ke Patra Putri Ke Naam. It is one of Nehru’s best-loved books and has been reprinted a number of times with forewards by Indira Gandhi and subsequent generations of the Gandhis.

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When the book was Glimpses of World History written?

Nehru spent many years in prison and during this time, he wrote a great deal. Starting in January 1931, Nehru began writing about the history of the world in a series of letters addressed to his daughter Indira.

At the end of 30 months he had written around 200 letters which ran into 1,000 pages. They were compiled into a book called Glimpses of World History, which was subtitled, Being further letters to his daughter, written in prison. It was published as a continuation of his earlier work, Letters from a Father to a Daughter also written in prison, in 1928.

In the book, the first letter is addressed to Indira on her birthday. In it, Nehru apologizes for not being able to meet her and give her a ‘material’ gift but offers instead a gift from the ‘heart’ - a series of letters addressed to her.

The letters are written in the style of an intimate conversation that Nehru might have had with Indira at his house in Anand Bhavan. He discusses specifically the impact of colonialism on India and other countries, and broadly the story of the rise and fall of different civilizations of the world.

He states that he was heavily influenced by The Outline of History by H. G. Wells, in the preface of the book. What is remarkable about this book was that since it was written in prison, Nehru had no access to reference material and wrote almost entirely from his accumulated knowledge of history.

The book traces history beginning from 6,000 BC till the time of its writing.

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Why is Toward Freedom one of Nehru’s most influential books?

Nehru wrote his autobiography Toward Freedom while in prison between June 1934 and February 1935. Also called The Autobiography, it was published in London in 1936 and has been translated into more than 30 languages.

It is one of Nehru’s most well-loved and influential books and has been reprinted many times. It has 68 chapters and over 672 pages.

In Toward Freedom Nehru delves into his family’s origin, his education in England and his marriage to Kamala. He also explores his own self-identity in the book, which he describes as a product of Eastern and Western influences.

In a wider context he presents his views on nationalism and nation building. The book became very popular with young intellectuals in India and abroad. It presented a modern ideology, which accounted for the challenges of nationalism within the framework of science, technology and industrialization.

Unlike Gandhiji, Nehru regarded poverty as an evil and was of the firm belief that the way forward was through the path of industrialization.

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How was Nehru a prolific communicator?

One of the greatest gifts of Jawaharlal Nehru was his ability to communicate. His ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech, delivered on the eve of India’s Independence is widely regarded as one of the finest speeches of the 20th century. His political and campaign speeches established a deep connection with the masses and garnered votes as well as public sentiment for him.

Apart from his speeches and conversations, Nehru was also a prolific writer. His writings reveal his sensitivity, his deep moral sense and his vision. He wrote historical, autobiographical and political works, some of which have become classics, such as The Discovery of India, Glimpses of World History and Letters from a Father to his Daughter.

In addition, Nehru also made it a point to write fortnightly letters to the chief ministers of all the states of India. His letters covered law and order, national planning, advice regarding governance, corruption and world events. A few of these letters were collected and published as books such as Selected works of Jawaharlal Nehru and Letters for a Nation: From Jawaharlal Nehru to his Chief Ministers 1947-1963.

Nehru was a great promoter of the freedom of the press. He believed that having a free press was vital for the health of democracy and that it was necessary to criticize persons in authority.

He conducted regular interactions with the press and hosted Press Conferences every month at the Parliament House and later at Vigyan Bhavan. This was a unique event that lasted about 90 minutes where Nehru would answer questions pertaining to any issue that the journalists wanted to discuss.

These conferences were a vital communication between journalists and Nehru, and made the prime minister accessible and accountable to the public. These meetings were a testimony to Nehru’s style of governance which was open, accessible and accountable.

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What was Nehru’s Involvement in the world of cinema?

Not many know that Nehru was a cinephile who encouraged Indian cinema, especially films that carried a positive message. Post-Independence, many viewed films as an uncultured and boorish form of entertainment. However, Nehru saw potential in this medium and encouraged films as a tool for communication. He saw an opportunity for the country to shape its identity through films.

He set up the Film Enquiry Committee (FEC) in 1949, which led to the development of the Film Industry in India. Nehru also used this emerging medium to advantage in the field of diplomatic relations. He included film stars such as Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor and Nargis as part of cultural delegations to Russia and Egypt, where the popularity of Indian cinema soared.

Nehru himself was portrayed in a number of short films and documentaries. Nehru’s character has been played multiple times by Roshan Seth - in Richard Attenborough’s 1982 film Gandhi, in Shyam Benegal’s 1988 television series Bharat Ek Khoj (which was based on Nehru’s book, The Discovery of India) and in a 2007 TV film titled The Last Days of the Raj. Benegal also directed the 1984 documentary film Nehru, which covered his political career and used real footage of Nehru instead of a depiction by an actor.

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What made Nehru such an iconic world figure?

Nehru was not only the most popular Prime Minister of India, but a prominent figure even on the global stage. India had based her freedom struggle on the values of peaceful opposition and non-violent protest. This unique strategy garnered considerable attention and respect globally and earned India and her leaders of the time, especially Nehru, iconic status.

Nehru had a finger on the pulse of the nation. He had a special rapport with the humble farmer as well as the intellectual youth of India. The masses that he addressed trusted and loved him. He was deeply connected to ground realities and initiated many agricultural reforms. At the same time, his modern, progressive vision drew talented new blood into the Congress.

He belonged to a prominent family who were well-educated and prosperous. Because of this he was exposed to the cream of society and had a classical Western education. He was thus able to straddle both the humble world of the rural peasant and the hallowed halls of high society with equal ease.

He was widely admired for his idealism and statesmanship. He stood apart from other politicians because of the sincerity of his actions. He was motivated by the desire to only serve and not to gather power or wealth for himself. He was a courageous and powerful leader who ensured that democracy took firm root in India.

He is unique because he held absolute power ever since he took office as the first prime minister of India till his death in 1964, but never let power corrupt him. While he lived, he defended the freedom of the marginalized and the voiceless and worked tirelessly to modernize and strengthen India. He was not just a leader and statesman but a beloved and admired guardian and founder of Indian democracy.

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How was Nehru cremated?

Nehru’s death marked the end of an era. Condolence messages poured in from Commonwealth countries as well as from leaders all across the world. His life was one of long endeavour, unfailing service and exemplary idealism. Dignitaries from 17 countries attended his funeral. Such was his charisma and stature that even his adversaries honoured him, including President Ayub Khan of Pakistan, who called him a “great Indian leader who commanded not only admiration but the devotion of his people”. The West Pakistan Provincial Assembly adjourned without transacting business after observing two minutes silence in memory of the “great freedom fighter”.

In India his body was draped in the National Flag and he was accorded a state funeral with full military honours. Flag officers of the Indian Armed Forces maintained a constant vigil over his body till 28 May when his body was borne on a ceremonial gun carriage to the banks of the Yamuna River.

The masses who revered Nehru in life gathered in full force to pay their last respects. Around 1.5 million people lined the streets of New Delhi to catch a final glimpse of him.

According to Nehru’s wishes, a handful of his ashes were thrown into the Ganga and the rest were carried and scattered over fields. He had said that “I want these to be carried high up into the air in an aeroplane and scattered from that height over the fields where the peasants of India toil, so that they might mingle with the dust and soil of India and become an indistinguishable part of India.”

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How did Jawaharlal Nehru die?

Nehru had been suffering from ill health for some time and had even considered resigning twice from the Prime minister’s post at the age of 74. However, due to the enormity of his responsibilities he was unable to do so.

In January of 1964, Jawaharlal Nehru suffered a stroke. Although he was partially paralyzed, he continued in office for another three months. Senior colleagues handled his ministerial duties, though he insisted on dealing with official papers himself, which he did right up to the evening before he died.

Nehru spent the last four days of his life from May 23 to 26, 1964 in Dehradun, his favourite getaway. An eye-witness account by journalist Raj Kanwar recounts that he sat under his favourite camphor tree and listened to the birds in the wooded grounds of Circuit House, now Raj Bhawan during these days.

He was restless the night before his death and woke one last time at 6.30 am before falling into a coma. He died on 27 May at 1.44 pm. His daughter Indira Gandhi was by his side at his death.

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