We often read about towering freedom fighters such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Vallabhai Patel but there were many who contributed to the freedom struggle. Here’s a glimpse of those unsung heroes.
Chandrashekar Azad: Born in 1906, Azad joined the freedom struggle at the age of 15. He took part in the Non-Cooperation movement, following the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh incident. Azad, Bhagat Singh, and Sukhdev Thapar started the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, a revolutionary organisation. Azad’s restlessness and enthusiasm earned him the name ‘Quick Silver. In 1931, Azad shot himself in the head in Alfred Park, fulfilling his vow of dying as a free man. The park was later renamed as Chandrashekhar Azad Park.
Madan Mohan Malaviya: Madan Mohan Malaviya was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2015. Born in 1861 in Allahabad, he co-founded the Banaras Hindu University in 1915. Hindu Mahasabha was also his brainchild though he is said to have always worked for Hindu-Muslim unity. He popularised the Sanskrit phrase ‘Satyameva Jayate meaning truth only triumphs. He was the four-time president of the Indian National Congress – 1909, 1918, 1932, and 1933. One of the founders of Scouting in India, he died in 1946.
Tiruppur Kumaran: Though he died at the age of 27, Kumaran’s struggle for India’s independence has immortalised him. Born in Chennimalai in present Erode district, Tamil Nadu, he founded the Desa Bandhu Youth Association and led demonstrations against the British rule. During one such protest on the banks of the Noyyal river in Tiruppur, he was assaulted by the police and died clutching the flag of the Indian nationalists in 1932. This earned him the name ‘Kodi Kaatha Kumaran’ (meaning – Kumaran who saved the flag.) On his 100th birth anniversary, in 2004, a commemorative stamp was issued by India Post.
Aruna Asaf Ali: Aruna Asaf Ali, the Grand Old Lady of Independence, was best known for hoisting the Indian National Congress flag at the Gowalia Tank Maidan in Mumbai during the Quit India movement. Born in 1909, she fought for better treatment of political prisoners in Tihar jail in 1932. She worked as a teacher in Gokhale Memorial School before joining the Independence movement. She participated in the Salt Satyagraha in 1930. After 1947, she worked for other social causes, especially woman empowerment. She was the first elected Mayor of Delhi in 1958. She was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1992 and Bharat Ratna in 1997, a year after her death.
Gopalakrishna Gokhale: Did you know that Gokhale was Gandhiji’s mentor? An important leader of the Indian National Congress, Gokhale founded the Servants of India Society. He campaigned for social reforms and self-rule but his methodologies were moderate. Educated at the Elphinstone College, Mumbai, he was one of the few Indians then to be educated in English. He respected the English political system though he criticised many aspects of their regime. Gokhale shared his views with Gandhiji when they met in 1912 in South Africa. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, was also said to have been inspired by Gokhale.
Did you know?
In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the birthplace of freedom fighter Chandrasekhar Azad, Azad Kutia in Bhabhra, Madhya Pradesh, making him the first ever PM to do so. Bhabhra was renamed as Chandrashekar Azad Nagar in 2011.
Picture Credit : Google
