As history will tell you, no movement in the world has triumphed without the role of women. And it was no different for India’s independence movement. While mere pages of history books cannot do justice to the stories of their grit, courage, and struggles, here’s a glimpse of just some of the women who’ve contributed in no small measure to India’s independence.
Hazrat Mahal: Like Rani Lakshmi Bai, Hazrat Mahal was one of the women who challenged the British during the revolt of 1857. After the Nawab of Awadh was defeated by the British and banished to Calcutta in 1856, his wife Begum Hazrat Mahal took charge of affairs with a trusted band of followers. She resisted the British’s conditional offer of truce, and soon, in a display of remarkable courage, seized control of Lucknow (famously known as the Seige of Lucknow).
Kasturba Gandhi: Married to Gandhiji at the age of 14, Kasturba was one of the earliest followers to join his satyagraha. Though her personal life is not as well-documented as Gandhiji’s, she is said to have been a powerful presence, especially when she had to fill up for Gandhiji. Gandhiji has mentioned that Kasturba could hold her own – the very quality that would enable her to inspire scores of women to join the freedom movement. Enduring chronic bronchitis, she fought for independence and women’s rights. Following the Quit India movement, Kasturba, along with Gandhiji, was detained at Aga Khan Palace in Poona (now Pune) in 1944, where she breathed her last.
Sarojini Naidu: A noted poet and writer from Bengal, Sarojini Naidu is remembered today equally as a freedom fighter. Influenced by the likes of Gandhiji, Nehru, Tagore, and Annie Besant, she joined the freedom movement after the partition of Bengal in 1905, and travelled across the country. Putting her oratorical and multi-lingual abilities to great use, she urged women to come out of the kitchen to find their voices. She played a significant role in creating a women’s movement within the freedom movement.
Durgabai Deshmukh: Durgabai was associated with the freedom movement at a young age as a student leader. She was barely a teen when she took active part in the non-cooperation movement in 1922. When the movement ended, she vociferously propagated the ideals of Gandhiji in and around her hometown of Rajahmundry (in today’s Andhra Pradesh). Even while being actively involved in several freedom movements, she managed to complete her Bachelor of Law and Master of Arts.
Did you know?
As a 14-year-old, the spunky Durgabai Deshmukh was once in-charge of inspecting tickets for entry to a khadi exhibition, where she forbade Jawaharlal Nehru himself from entering the venue for not producing a ticket!
Picture Credit : Google
