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New Delhi: As India gears up to celebrate 75 years of independence, Sadhguru- Founder, Isha Foundation has launched an initiative bringing to life the 75 unsung heroes of Indian struggle for freedom. “Nearly 3-4 generations fought (for India’s Independence) but most of those names are unfortunately unheard of. It’s very important that we respect and are grateful for what the previous generations have done for us (because) a nation that lives without gratitude will not go far,” said Sadhguru, Founder-Isha Foundation.
“As a part of India 75 Amrit Mahotsav, I will be bringing one revolutionary alive in the social media. Please share this with your friends and above all express your gratitude for those who laid down their lives, for those who sacrificed their youth to make India what it is today,” Sadhguru added, while speaking about his initiative of “bringing one revolutionary alive” for the next 75 days to commemorate India’s 75th anniversary of Independence.
From India’s early freedom fighters, the tribal freedom fighters who revolted against Britishers to women revolutionaries, through the list, Sadhguru makes a noble attempt to bring to the fore the lesser-known freedom fighters from all parts of the country. At the cost of their own lives, these brave fighters went beyond their caste, creed, religion, language, gender and other social limitations to pose a strong fight against the unjust colonial rulers. The India@75 list currently features Komaram Bheem, Jhalkari Bai, Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Maveeran Alagumuthu, Durgavati Devi, Bhima Nayak, V.V.S. Aiyar, Jatin Das, Tiruppur Kumaran, Haipou Jadonang and The Chapekar Brothers.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3uDtbb3OvDMNr1PBOB-4RBG2VnRbFfyt
Komaram Bheem belonged to the tribal Gond community in Adilabad, Telangana. He grew up seeing his people exploited by the forest officers, businessmen and zamindars (landowners).
The Adivasi communities used to practice what is called “slash and burn” agriculture in the forests. To make space for farming, they would cut trees and burn them. The ash made the soil very fertile so they could grow crops there. After some time, they would shift to another spot in the forest and do the same. This gave time for trees to grow back and the land to recover in the previous spot. It was an effective sustainable farming practice at that time.
But the cruelty of the forest officials was such that they took away crops produced by the tribals, arguing that the land was theirs. They even cut off the fingers of Gondi children as punishment for supposedly illegally cutting trees.
So, Bheem grew up witnessing this exploitation. His people were forced to leave their homes. His father tried to stand up for the tribal people’s rights but was killed. These incidents infuriated Bheem and one day, he killed a tax collector.
He then escaped to Assam and worked for a tea plantation. He ended up fighting for the rights of tea workers and landed in prison. Four days later, he escaped and came back to fight for tribal self-governance. He formed a guerilla army and commanded 300 men. Their slogan was “Jal Jangal Zameen” – which means “water, forest, land”. Even today the tribal people use this slogan.
After three years of resistance, Bheem was killed in an encounter in 1940, after his hideout was leaked to the police. Today he is a revered martyr and considered god-like among the Gond people, who celebrate his death anniversary on Aswayuja Pournami (the full moon day of the lunar month of Ashwin). Outside the local regions, there is no mention of his valor in history books. Fortunately, at least now, a film about him is slated to be released this year (check RRR).
This is the story of an extraordinary warrior woman named Jhalkari Bai who served in Rani Lakshmibai’s army, but is unknown outside Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.
She was born in a Dalit family in 1830. Being of lower caste, she could not attend school. Instead her father trained her in horse riding and using weapons. Local lore says that she killed a tiger that was attacking the villagers and even a leopard when she went into the nearby forest. She married a soldier in the Jhansi army. Lakshmibai noticed that Jhalkari Bai looked just like her and enquired about her. When she found out about her bravery and skills, she took her into the women’s army, where Jhalkari bai was trained in warfare.
Soon, Jhalkari Bai became an adviser to the queen. After the king’s death, the East India Company took over Jhansi in 1854. In March 1858, Jhansi rebelled and decided to demand independence. So, they went to war against the British. When it was clear that Jhansi could not win the war, rumors say it was Jhlakari Bai who asked Lakshmibai to escape with her son.
In a heroic step, Jhalkari Bai dressed up as the queen and led the battle while the queen escaped. Her husband got killed in the same battle. After that, they say she fought like a wounded tigress, killing many British soldiers, and finally died fighting.
Many Dalit communities in Bundelkhand look up to her as a Goddess even today and celebrate Jhalkari Bai Jayanti every year. We don’t know how many such unsung heroes laid down their lives for India’s independence. As we celebrate the 75th year of independence, it is my effort to bring forth as many stories of such forgotten martyrs as possible.
One of India’s earlier freedom fighters was Veerapandiya Kattabomman who lived in the late 1700s. He was a Palayakarar, a feudal chieftain overseeing several villages. The Palayakarars or Polygars as they were known, were originally appointed during the Vijayanagara Empire, and later became independent rulers under the Nawab of Arcot, an ally of the British East India Co.
Veerapandiya Kattabomman was the Palayakarar of the Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu. At that time, the British had trapped the Nawab in debt so he gave them the right to collect taxes from the Palayakarars.
All the Palayakarars acquiesced except Kattabomman. Initially, the British tried to negotiate with Kattabomman but things turned violent during the meeting and Kattabomman ended up killing a British officer. Then a bounty was put on his head. This sparked anger in the other Palayakarars who revolted. This became the First Polygar War of 1799.
The British attempted to storm Kattabomman’s fort in Panchalankurichi and sent a messenger demanding unconditional surrender. Kattabomman replied that “We are sons of the soil. We will live and die for the prestige, honor and dignity of our land.”
Kattabomman and his troops held the fort, but they realized that they would not be able to withstand British cannons. So he left the fort using a secret passage and went into a hideout near Pudukottai. But the Pudukottai king, who was under pressure from the British, betrayed him and he was captured and later publicly hanged in Thoothukudi on 16 October 1799.
His open defiance inspired many young freedom fighters in the next generation and helped prepare the ground for India’s freedom struggle.
Every year, the Tirunelveli district honors his heroic deeds by celebrating the “Veerapandiya Kattabomman festival” which is held at Panchalankurichi on his birth anniversary.
Many people think that India’s struggle for independence started in the 1900s, but there are many unknown heroes who laid down their lives to build the foundation for the freedom movement way before that.
Alagumuthu Kone was one of the very first freedom fighters who put up staunch opposition to British colonization in the eighteenth century.
Born in 1710 to an ordinary family, he rose to the position of General for the Ettayapuram Palayam near Thirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. He was honored by the Polygar king with the title “Servaikaran” or commander of the army, after proving his skills in horse riding, swordsmanship, and combat wrestling.
When the Polygar army was defeated in battle against the British in 1759, Alagumuthu and his army of about 250 soldiers were captured.
A very barbaric thing happened next. The right hand of the captured soldiers were cut off by the British, while Alagumuthu was tied to a cannon and his body was blown to bits.
In his memory, the government of Tamil Nadu conducts a memorial ceremony every year on 11 July in Kattalankulam, a little hamlet on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu.
As a tribute to Alagumuthu Kone, a few years ago the Government of India released a Postage Stamp featuring him.
NOTE: Tea was one of the most lucrative trades and one of the first businesses the East India Company started in India. Well, if you don’t know this, the East India Company which symbolizes centuries of a British Raj, is currently owned by an Indian! How’s that for irony?
Durgavati Devi was one of the very few women who actively participated in the armed revolution against the British.
Durgavati Devi was born in 1907 and when she was around 10 years old, she was married to a member of HSRA which was one of the most active anti-British revolutionary groups at the time. In HSRA, she was one of the most meticulous planners. So she became Durga Bhabhi for the other members of HSRA. Her husband taught her how to use a gun and bomb-making. She came into the limelight in the Naujawan Bharat Sabha in 1926, when she stood up and put a tilak on Bhagat Singh’s forehead after he vowed to overthrow the British.
In December 1928, after British police officer John Saunders was killed by Bhagat Singh and Rajguru, Sukhdev asked her to help Bhagat Singh and Rajguru escape the scene. They say that over 300 policemen were at the Lahore Railway Station looking for Bhagat Singh. But she still went and helped them escape by pretending to be Bhagat Singh’s wife, and Rajguru pretended to be their servant. She took a train to Calcutta with both of them, and her infant son was also part of disguise.
Later, when Bhagat Singh was arrested, she sold her ornaments to free Bhagat Singh and others who were arrested. In October 1930, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdeva and Rajguru were sentenced to death. In a last attempt to free him, Durgawati fired at a British sergeant and escaped. She was arrested in 1932 and sent to jail for 3 years. By the time she was released in 1935, nearly all the HSRA members were either martyred or arrested. She became a school teacher in Ghaziabad, where she passed away in 1999 like a nobody, without any recognition of her role in the freedom struggle.
It is time we recognize her immense courage and contribution to the independence movement and ensure that her memory is preserved not just in textbooks, but in our minds and hearts.
In the rebellion of 1857 against the British, it was not only the sepoys but even the tribals of present-day Madhya Pradesh led by Bhima Nayak who put up stiff resistance to them.
The Bhil tribe was spread across areas of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Their resistance to the British began in 1818 when the East India Company came to power. Not only did they violate many basic rights of people, in an attempt to monetize forest resources, they even wanted to take away the tribe’s right to forest and land. They even began to forcefully convert people to Christianity.
All this led to the Bhil revolutionaries declaring war on the British in 1818. They could not overpower the heavily armed British army but there was continuous small-scale rebellion. But in September 1857, a more organized effort began under Bhima Nayak’s leadership. He united many tribal groups across nearby areas. And they defeated the British detachment in the region. Bhima Nayak warned the police officers that it would not bode well for them to remain loyal to the government. Shocked and intimidated by the defeat and Bhima Nayak’s words, the British put a reward of Rs. 2000 on his head.
In 1858, the British sent an army of 1500 men to suppress the rebels who occupied a hilltop. Surrounded by British troops, the Bhils attacked them with rocks and stones causing a lot of damage. But eventually, many of them got arrested. Bhima Nayak was caught after a tip off and sent to Port Blair, where he was later hanged in 1876.
His legend lives on in the tribal community, but unfortunately, we don’t know much about him and other tribal leaders because they did not write down their history. We should not forget their contribution to India’s independence.
Varahaneri Venkatesa Subramaniam Aiyar, also known as V. V. S. Aiyar, was an Indian revolutionary from Tamil Nadu who was also a scholar. He spent most of his life successfully evading arrest, but when the British eventually managed to put him behind bars, he used that time to translate classical Tamil literature into English. Even today, he is recognized as the father of the modern Tamil short story.
Jatindra Nath Das, or Jatin Das, as he was known, was a revolutionary from Bengal. When he was only 17 years old, he participated in the non-cooperation movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. This led to him joining the Anushilan Samiti, a group of young revolutionaries who wanted to end British rule in India. Then he joined the Hindustan Republican Socialist Association along with Bhagat Singh and others.
In 1925, the police finally got him and he was sent to a jail. After seeing the condition of Indian political prisoners, he went on a hunger strike. He continued his fast for 21 days until the Jail Superintendent came and apologized to him.
In June 1929, he was arrested again and sent to the Lahore Jail. Even there, prisoners were kept in very unhygienic conditions. Their clothes were unwashed, the kitchen was infested with rats and cockroaches, and they were totally cut off from the outside world. Das began another hunger strike. Authorities tried to force feed him but he resisted. He began to get paralyzed in some parts of the body, but still did not break his fast.
As his health condition deteriorated, the jail committee recommended his release, but the government rejected it. On 13 September 1929, after 63 days of fasting, Jatin Das died in jail fighting for the rights of political prisoners. His funeral procession went from Lahore to Calcutta, and at every railway station, thousands of people gathered to pay their respects. Subhash Chandra Bose led the procession in Calcutta.
Jatin Das was not even 25 years old, but with his determination and commitment, drew much needed attention to the plight of political prisoners and inspired thousands to stand up against British rule.
And it is time we give him his due recognition for his role in freeing India.
Born into a weaver family, Kumaraswamy Mudaliar was from Chennimalai, which is now Erode in Tamil Nadu.
When the independence movement started gaining momentum, Kumaran became deeply inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s principles and ideals. He took part in the Civil Disobedience movement in 1930 and started “Desa Bandhu Youth Association” which attracted thousands of youth from in and around Tamil Nadu who wanted to fight for India’s freedom. He conducted various protest marches against the British all over Tamil Nadu and continued to inspire a lot of people.
The British arrested Mahatma Gandhi after he led a demonstration in Bombay in 1932. This led to riots and protests across the country, including Tamil Nadu. There was one such procession in Tiruppur, which Kumaran took part in. The protesters were singing patriotic songs like Subramanya Bharathiyar’s “Achamillai, Achamillai” which means “I have no fear.” They also waved the Indian National Flag which was banned at that time.
The police grew angry and led a brutal lathi charge in which many were lethally injured. Kumaran’s skull was fractured and he fell down in a faint, but he never let go of the National Flag or let it touch the ground. He lost his life the next day at the young age of 27.
Even today, he is fondly remembered in Tamil Nadu as Kodi Kaatha Kumaran which means “The Kumaran who guardedthe honor of our National Flag.”
The Tiruppur Kumaran Memorial stands near the Railway Station in Tiruppur to honor his sacrifice for the nation.
The incident in Tiruppur happened just on the banks of the Noyyal River, which actually flows through our Yoga Center in India. So Kumaran’s story is very close to our hearts.
When we talk about India’s independence movement, the stories of freedom fighters from North East India have not become mainstream.
Haipou Jadonang was one of the first revolutionaries from Manipur. He was a Naga spiritual leader. By the time he was 10 years old, he was already very popular in his tribal community for his prophetic dreams and healing powers.
Haipou noticed that Christianity had started growing in the region because of the British. Unable to pay the excessive taxes, tribals were converting hoping that their economic problems would come down. But the systematic extortion unleashed by the British did not cease. Many of the men were being forcefully sent off to France and other places during World War 1. So, Haipou decided that the only way to bring wellbeing and justice to his people was to fight the British. To unite the tribals in the area, he started a religious movement called Heraka, which means pure.
Around the same time, the Nagas who went to fight for the British during World War 1 got exposed to the outside world. Suddenly their individual tribes and clans became less important. After the war, they created what they called the Naga Club.
Haipou started going from village to village, seeking support for an independent Kingdom of the Nagas. To stay undercover, he would travel on horseback and dress up like a Britisher. But sometime in 1928, he was caught and sent to jail for a week.However, his popularity only rose because of this.
As soon as he got released, he started building an army, training 500 men and women in using weapons and strategy. While Haipou was sending some of his people to make military alliances to different parts, some of them started organizing day-to-day activities, like farming and cattle-rearing in the community. In appreciation, some people started paying taxes to his group instead of the British.
Around 1931, the British heard about his plan and their lost tax revenue. In February, they arrested him and 600 of his followers under charges of sedition. He was given the death penalty and executed soon afterwards.
It is time we acknowledge the heroes of the North East in India’s fight for independence.
When we talk about India’s freedom struggle, we only remember a handful of names. Many of them, we never hear about like the Chapekar Brothers – Damodar Hari Chapekar, Balkrishna Hari Chapekar and Vasudeo Hari Chapekar – from Chinchwad in Pune. They were described as the founders of the revolutionary movement in India by Lala Lajpat Rai.
Influenced by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Damodar, who was the oldest, started the “Chapekar Club” which was against British rule, and young people would gather there. In 1896, the thousands were dying due to the plague in Pune. To deal with the epidemic, the British government appointed a Special Plague Committee.
As soon as the committee’s commissioner took charge, he deployed forces and gave them the power to walk into any house, destroy their belongings and property, including idols of worship. They even started forcing people to take off their clothes in public places, in the name of “check-ups” – men, women, children – everyone. Seeing all the harassment happening before their eyes, the members of Chapekar Club decided to kill the commissioner who started this.
On 22nd June 1897, the commissioner was returning in his horse carriage after attending Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee celebrations. The three brothers, who were hiding along the route, assassinated him. Damodar got arrested very soon and sentenced to death, but the other two brothers escaped. But unfortunately, other members of Chapekar Club gave away their location and both of them got arrested. They were also given the death sentence. Damodar was executed in April 1898 and the younger brothers in May 1899.
Their heroic effort was a jolt to the British authorities. In September 1898, the Governor of Bombay was compelled to adopt more humane methods in dealing with the situation. And for many anti-British groups in Maharashtra, this incident became a turning point. If not for brave men like the Chapekar Brothers, we would not be celebrating India’s 75th Independence Day this year.
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