Forgotten Fighters Of Indian Independence: The country cheering loud for the 77th Independence Day. 15 August 1947 is etched in Indian history with golden letters. The day annually celebrates the leaders of freedom fighters but forgets one they lead. There are countless heroes and heroines and their unwavering dedication which needs to be told on the grand stages.
In this article, you will learn about the lesser-known hero who played an important role in India’s fight for liberty.
Gangu Mehtar: Gangu Mehtar or Gangu Baba was born in Bithoor village of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh in a Dalit family. He lived his childhood in extreme poverty. In the early days to earn a living he also worked as a sweeper.
Gangu Baba’s shift to Chunnaiganj village brought major changes in his life. He learnt wrestling and later owned a wrestling ring where many youths practised wrestling under his tutelage. He was one of the most important parts of Nana Saheb’s army who killed around 150 Britishers singlehandedly.
Kanak Lata Barua: Kanaklata Barua also called Birbala and Shaheed (martyr), was an Indian independence activist and AISF leader. The 17-year-old Kanaklata with a heart full of love for the motherland joined Mrityu Bahini, a death squad of youth from Assam. The Bahini decided to raise the national flag at the neighbourhood police station on September 20, 1942. To do this, Barua led a group of unarmed peasants. Rebati Mahan Som, the official in charge of the police station, told the procession that their plot will result in terrible consequences from the police. When the police opened fire on the parade after issuing the warning, it was still moving forward. Mukunda Kakoti, who was also shot at, picked up the flag Barua was holding after she was shot.
Barua the young leader sacrificed her life.
Taanguturi Prakasham: Taanguturi Prakasam, popularly known as “Andhra Kesari” which means “Lion of Andhra”. Born on 23 August 1872 he was an Indian jurist, political leader, social reformer, and anti-colonial nationalist and the first chief minister of the Andhra Pradesh. He actively promoted harijan (Dalit) issues while travelling the state. On one of these excursions to a Harijanwada outside of Ongole, he experienced severe sunstroke. He was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad, where he passed away on May 20th, 1957.
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Aruna Asaf Ali: Aruna Asaf Ali was a publisher, political activist, and educator from India. She was born Aruna Ganguly on July 16, 1909, in Kalka, Haryana, to a Bengali family that practised traditional Hinduism. She was a vocal supporter of Indian independence and is well known for raising the national flag of India during the 1942 Quit India Movement at Bombay’s Gowalia Tank Maidan. She earned the titles of “Grand Old Lady” of the Independence Movement and “Heroine of 1942” due to her valiant actions.
Veerpandiya Kattabonam: Veerapandiya Kattabomman was an 18th-century Palayakarrar and king of Panchalankurichi in Tamil Nadu, India. Kattabomman had to make a stand at his fort in Panchalankurichi, largely unprepared, although his forces were able to hold back the company troops initially, his fort was incapable of taking on British artillery, so he withdrew from the fort into nearby forests, fighting a guerilla campaign till his capture on October 1, 1799.
He was captured by the British with the help of the ruler of the kingdom of Pudukottai, Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman, and at the age of 39, he was hanged at Kayathar on 16 October 1799.
Alluri Seetharam Raju: Indian rebel Alluri Sitarama Raju battled against British colonial power in his country. He organized the tribal people against the repressive forest regulations and policies of the British government by leading a guerilla war in the Eastern Ghats region of modern-day Andhra Pradesh.
He was born as Alluri Rama Raju into a Telugu-speaking family. Later, he prefixed his name with “Sita” in honour of a young woman he loved who tragically passed away at a young age, leaving him heartbroken.
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Maatangini Haazra:Maatangini Haazra, popularly known as Gandhi Buri(old lady Gandhi), was born on 19 October 1870. She enthusiastically got involved in the Gandhian campaign for Indian freedom. She participated in the Civil Disobedience campaign in 1930 and was the first person to be detained for violating the Salt Act. And was later arrested for 6 months.
Despite her pitiful physical condition, Hazra returned to her social work in the 1930s as soon as she was released from prison to assist untouchables. She worked with impacted men, women, and children when smallpox epidemics first appeared in the area.
When the British Indian police shot her dead in front of the Tamluk Thana on September 29, 1942, she was in charge of one of the five batches of volunteers (of the Vidyut Bahini) that had been assembled by the Samar Parisad (War Council). The first martyr of the ‘Quit India’ movement.
Potti Shriramulu: Indian rebel and freedom fighter Potti Sreeramulu was born on 16 March 1901. In the Andhra area, Sreeramulu is regarded as Amarajeevi because of his self-sacrifice for the Andhra cause. He contributed his life to the formation of a separate Telugu-speaking state from the dominant Tamil-speaking Madras presidency.
He sat on a hunger strike for 56 days in support of having a separate state for Andhra Pradesh; he died in the process. His death sparked public rioting and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru declared the intent of the newly liberated nation to form Andhra State three days following the death of Sreeramulu.
The list of unsung heroes does not end here. These infamous people, from grassroots activists to unknown revolutionaries selflessly contribute to the freedom of struggle. It’s time that we at least have them in our consciousness if not in our books.
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Source: vcmp.edu.vn