India - Untold Stories of Indian Independence

The faces you remember when Independence Day are not the only ones who contributed to the freedom struggle. Check out this article to know more about unsung heroes.
   The country cheering loud for the 78th 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. 

 Kanaklata Barua:- 
   Kanaklata Barua, a 17-year-old girl from Assam was part of a death squad ‘Mrityu Bahini’. She led a procession of unarmed villagers during the Quit India Movement, aiming to hoist the national flag at the British-dominated Gohpur Police Station.
However, the police opened fire, and she was shot dead. Despite her young age, her courage and sacrifice for the country are remembered with reverence. 

 Tirupur Kumaran:-

Tirupur is the name of a town near Coimbatore in Tamilnadu and is the home to our freedom fighter Kumaran. A protest march was organized by Kumaran in 1932, protesting against the Britishers. He disobeyed the government and broke British law by clinging to the Indian National Flag, which was banned. This act of the protesters enraged the Britishers and led to them getting assaulted by the British, and Kumaran was brutally assaulted and was forced to put the flag down.
Even after being beaten repeatedly by the Britishers, Kumaran did not surrender and held on to the flag, not caring for his Life. His body had deep wounds and was severely injured, but even when he fainted, he did not lose his grip on the flag and clung to it, ensuring that it didn't fall to the ground. During his last breaths, the only thing he cared about was our flag, and this incident got him the title of Kodi Katha Kumaran which means Kumaran, the saviour of the National Flag. 

 Birsa Munda:- 
 Born on November 5, 1875, Birsa Munda was a tribal freedom fighter, a folk hero as well as a religious leader. He belonged to the Munda tribe. He was the head of a tribal religious movement, which was believed to change the old patterns. The movement started in the Bengal Presidency (now known as Jharkhand) during British rule at the time of the late 19th century. This made him a very important figure during the Independence movement in India.
Under the guidance of his tutor Jaipal Nag, Birsa got educated in Salga. Later, Birsa got himself to convert to Christianity so that he could join a German Mission School. It was not long before he dropped out of school after knowing that the Britishers were planning to convert tribals into Christians by means of education.
 After quitting school, Birsa decided to create a faith called 'Birsait'. Soon after its formation of it, many members of the Munda community became a part of the faith, and it came out as a challenge to the Britishers and their activities of converting tribals.
Birsa Munda is famous for his contribution to challenging the Britishers and protesting against the ill practice of conversion that was going on. He supported Oraon and Munda communities. Birsa died at the age of 24 in 1900.

Aruna Asaf Ali:-

  Aruna Asaf Ali, popularly known as the 'Grand Old Lady' of the Independence Movement, was a fearless revolutionary from Punjab who played a significant role in the Quit India Movement.
She is best remembered for her audacious act of hoisting the Indian National flag at the Gowalia Tank maidan in Bombay on August 9, 1942, marking the commencement of the movement.
Despite the police firing upon the assembly, she bravely presided over the session, earning her the title of the 'Heroine of the 1942 movement'.

Bipin Chandra Pal:-
  He was the chief shining star of the agitation against the Partition of Bengal which came to be popularly known as the Swadeshi Movement.
He is known as the ‘Father of Revolutionary Thoughts’ in India and was one of the freedom fighters of India. He was a staunch radical in both public and private life.
 The most important event in Bipin Chandra Pal's life was his refusal to give evidence against Arbindo Gosh in a sedition case against him in 1907 for which he suffered rigorous imprisonment for six months. But this made him a national hero. His last days were passed in poverty. He died on May 20, 1932.

Peer Ali Khan:-

Peer Ali Khan was born in Muhammadpur, which lies in the Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh. At the age of seven, he ran away from his former home and arrived in Patna, where he found shelter and refuge from a landlord. Peer was brought up and educated by the zamindar, and he later took part in the 1857 rebellion against the Britishers.
 Peer was the owner of a book shop in Patna, where all the freedom fighters used to gather and discuss techniques to kick the British out of India. And not just the freedom fighters, the bookshop was the point where every individual kept contact not just between themselves but also with the Indian soldiers who worked in the British army. Peer Ali used to conduct daily campaigns in opposition to the British and was an integral part of the 1857 rebellion. When Ali was plotting against the British with the soldiers belonging to Danapur Cantonment, two letters were misplaced and got into British hands, and the Britishers became aware of the involvement of Peer Ali.
Ali got to know about the situation. He gathered the ones who were interested and planned to attack the British. Peer, along with his co-workers, Maulvi Mehdi, collected almost 50 guns and distributed them among the members of the crew.
 Ali and his 33 followers were arrested on the 4th of July, 1857. Most of the followers were hanged to death the very next day without having a hearing, while Peer Ali was ruthlessly tortured and cross-questioned. He was also hanged on July 7.

Kamala Das Gupta:- 
After  finishing her education, she became acquainted with some of the members of the 'Jugantar Party, and her original Gandhism got converted into a cult of violent resistance.
1930 was the year she finally left home and started managing a hostel for poor women, and she used to store bomb-making essentials for the freedom fighters. She was arrested a number of times but was eventually released every time. She became in charge of many relief camps and helped a lot of people. She also used to edit a women's journal, 'Mandira', which was a pathbreaker in her journey. 

The Kakori Train Robbery:-

Kakori is a village near Lucknow. It became famous, because on the evening of August 9, 1925, the Number 8 Down train -- from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow -- was held-up, relieved of about Rs. 8,000, headed for the government treasury,  from railway guard's carriage near Kakori. There was one accidental shot fired which killed a passenger.

The robbery was planned by ten revolutionaries at a meeting held in Agra. The ten were: Ramaprasad Bismil, Rajendra Lahiri, Thakur Roshan Singh, Sachindra Bakshi,  Chandrasekhar Azad, Keshab Chakravarthy, Banwari  Lal, Mukundi Lal, Manmathnath Gupta and Ashfaqulla Khan.

The government, shaken up by the daring robbery, swung into action. Arrest warrants were issued against the ten and rewards for their capture were announced. Other arrest warrants were issued for the leaders of Hindustan Republican Association founded by Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh Chatterjea and Sachindranath Sanyal in 1924 for the armed overthrow of British colonial rule. With the exception of Chandrashekhar Azad all were caught, most of them betrayed by their friends. Azad was trapped later by the police on February 27, 1931. He killed himself, rather than be captured, with revolvers in both hands, after he had exhausted his ammunition in the gun fight with the police.

On the morning of September 26, 1925, Ramaprasad was arrested. Others were caught soon after, except Ashfaqulla Khan and Sachindra Bakshi who eluded the police for almost a year. By that time Kakori case had progressed considerably; so the cases against both Ashfaq and Bakshi were combined and added to the Kakori case.

A committee was formed to defend the accused in the main case. Pandit Motilal Nehru was the chairman. There were others on the committee like Jawaharlal, Sriprakasha, Acharya Narendra Deva, Govind Ballabh Pant and Chandra Bhanu Gupta.

The main case and the complementary case went on for over a year and a half. The Court of Justice under the British rule convicted all, sentencing Ramaprasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajendra Lahiri and Roshan Singh to death; four others to transportation for life to Kala Pani (Andamans) and seventeen others to various long terms of imprisonment.

A strong campaign was organized throughout India to save the lives of these revolutionary heroes. The whole country protested against the death sentences.  

But British imperialism was thirsting for the blood of the Indian revolutionaries.

On the 18th of December 1927, Rajendra Lahiri was hanged. Ramaprasad and Ashfaqullah were executed on the 19th and Roshan Singh on the 20th.

Bina Das:-
 Bina was born to the renowned Brahmo teacher, Beni Madhab Das(Teacher of Subhas Chandra Bose) and his wife, social worker Sarala Devi. She joined the Chhatri Sangha (Women Students Association) established in 1928.
Many girls left their homes and settled in a hostel established by Bina and Kalyani’s mother, called the Punya Ashram. Bombs were hidden at this hostel to evade police checks. Revolutionary Kamala Das Gupta who also happened to have supplied the revolver used by Bina to fire at the governor, would carry bombs in small leather and tin cases to dispatch it to other members.
  On February 6, 1932, Bina Das walked into the Calcutta University where the then Governor, Stanley Jackson was delivering the convocation speech. Little did anyone know, the timid-looking girl had a revolver concealed under her gown.
 Just as the Governor was addressing the crowd, Bina got up from her seat, fished out the revolver and opened fire at him. He dodged the first two shots. The Vice-Chancellor, Hassan Suhrawardy, quickly leapt into action to shield the governor.
Even as Suhrawardy was trying to overpower a young Bina, she did not stop firing. She fired three more shots until she exhausted her ammunition. One bullet whipped past the Governor’s ear, but he escaped unscathed.
  She was arrested and sentenced to nine years of rigorous imprisonment. But even as she was pressured to confess the names of her accomplices during interrogation, she refused to spill the beans.
After her husband’s death, she left Calcutta to settle in an ashram in Rishikesh, away from the public eye. It was said that she had taken up a teaching job to meet ends after that. Even in her final years, she refused to accept the pension for freedom fighters by the government. she was awarded the Padma Shri in 1960.
 She ended her life by the roadside on 26th December1986. The dead body was in a partially decomposed state. It was found by the passing crowd. The police were informed, and it took them a month to determine her identity. It was in independent India for which the once-acclaimed Agni Kanya had staked her everything. Now lay her dead body there unknown, unwept and unsung. The nation should remember this somewhat poignant story, even though late and salute her, the great lady.”
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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