Ms. Sanchita Santosh Aher

Msc (F.S)

Ms. Tanushree Dheer

MSc. (FS)

Her Work:

We are in the 75th year of our independence. It has been a long struggle. The struggle started in 1857 with an aim to end the British rule in 1947. The main heroes of our independence are the different freedom fighters of the country who pledged to make India a free bird again and end the adversity and hardships of the people. Each and every Indian, whether a man or a woman, a teenager or an adult, everyone participated and gave their best to end the British rule in India. Whenever we talk of India’s struggle for independence and freedom fighters the names which strike our minds are: Father of nation: Mahatma Gandhi, Subash Chandra Bose, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, Tantia Tope, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Bhagat Singh and many more. Though these freedom fighters were of varied ideologies ranging from moderate to extremist, their contribution to Indian independence is immortalized in the minds of each and every Indian. Mahatma Gandhi who is also known as the Father of nation. He was the reason behind the famous Dandi march and non-cooperation movement. He always followed his principles of ahimsa or non- violence and led the freedom struggle with support of his followers. Subash Chandra Bose who is popularly known as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, founder of Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj. He traveled to different countries and formed alliances. He gathered people for his fauj by addressing them with his very famous slogan “Tum mujhe khoon do main tumhe azadi dunga” and “Jai hind”. Bhagat Singh was a very glorious and patriot freedom fighter who sacrificed his life at a very young age for freedom of the country. He along with Rajguru and Sukhdev shot John Saunders mistaking him as Scott to avenge the death Lala Lajpat Rai. He also exploded bombs at legislative assembly in Delhi and shouted slogans “ Inquilab Zindabad”. Later on he surrendered along with his mates and they were convicted of assasination and bomb explosion. He and his mates led protests in the jail even regarding different treatment of Indian and European prisoners.They were fearless and even competed as to who would get hanged first. Surya Sen, also known as “Master da” was a leading revolutionary in the struggle for independence. He was actively involved in the non-cooperation movement and is also known for his role in the 1930 Chittagong armory raid. Apart from these fearless men there were also some fearless women whose active participation and patriotism were a benchmark in our struggle for independence. They were popularly known as Veeranganas. The first name which comes to mind while thinking of women freedom fighters is Rani Laxmibai. She was the maratha queen who fought against the britishers fearlessly with a very small army for seven days. She became a symbol of resistance for women across India during the freedom struggle. Another name in the list is Sarojini Naidu. She is popularly known as The Nightingale of India. She was a very good poet and was politically active. She followed the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and became the first woman president of Indian National Congress (INC). Uda devi, a fearless fighter who led one of the fiercest battles in Lucknow against britishers. Uda devi and other dalit women participants in battle are remembered as warriors or dalit veraanganas. Other veraanganas are: Savitribai Phule, Basanti Devi, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Kasturba Gandhi, Kamla Nehru, Annie Beasant, Vijay Laxmi Pandit and many more. There are also some unsung heroes of our freedom struggle whose names are not so glorified but deserve a salute for their extraordinary courage and patriotism. These unsung heroes are: Aruna Asaf Ali, Bhikaji Cama, Peer Ali Khan, Sardar Udham Singh, Lakshmi Sehgal, Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi and many more. Peer Ali Khan had a major contribution in the 1857 mutiny, however only a handful of people know about him. He was among the earliest rebels in the country. He had a small book shop in Patna which became the secret meeting point of freedom fighters. He along with 200 other supporters stormed Gulzar bagh and managed to kill Dr. Lloyal. Sardar Udham Singh is also one of faded names in the list of heroes of freedom. He was the reason behind the assassination of Michel O’Dwyer in Caxton hall, London in full view of august gathering. The reason behind the assassination was the Jalliawalla Bagh massacre, Udham witnessed the massacre and help carry the injured and dead to the hospital. His only mission of life was killing Reginald Dyer and Michel O’Dwyer in their home soil to avenge the death of Jalliawalla Bagh people. Another faded name in the history is Bhikaji Cama. She was a part of the Non- cooperation movement and also the Quit India movement. She was also an iconoclast who stood for gender inequality during the late 19th and 20th century. The freedom struggle was a long and sacrificing journey led by all Indians. In this journey certain names were glorified and are even still remembered and their bravery stories are told everywhere but there were people who sacrificed their life for our freedom at a very young age but their efforts and sacrifices have faded over the years. It is our duty to respect each and every person equally and pass on the story of our freedom struggle and our heroes to the next generation and make them aware of our historical background.

AFRS Congratulate 🎊 to both winners and say thank you to all the participants