Freedom fighters every Indian should know

India’s independence in 1947 was the result of nearly a century of struggle by people with very different ideas about how to win it. Some fought with swords, some with newspapers, some with non-violent protest and some with guns. Here are the leaders whose stories every Indian should know.

1857: the first great revolt

The uprising of 1857 was the first large-scale challenge to the East India Company. Among its leaders, Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi became a legend after defending her city and dying in battle near Gwalior in 1858.

The reformers

Before political independence came demands for social change. Ram Mohan Roy campaigned against sati and for modern education, and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar fought for the remarriage of widows. In Pune, Savitribai Phule opened schools for girls and fought caste discrimination.

The radicals: Lal, Bal and Pal

By the early twentieth century, some leaders demanded complete self-rule. Bal Gangadhar Tilak declared that swaraj was his birthright and used newspapers and public festivals to rally people. Lala Lajpat Rai, the Lion of Punjab, died after being beaten by police during a protest against the Simon Commission in 1928.

Gandhi and mass non-violence

Mahatma Gandhi turned the freedom struggle into a mass movement through non-cooperation, the Salt March and Quit India. He was joined by leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and the poet Sarojini Naidu, who led the raid on the Dharasana salt works in 1930.

The revolutionaries

Young revolutionaries chose a different path. Bhagat Singh threw harmless bombs into the Central Legislative Assembly in 1929 to make the authorities listen and was hanged at 23. His comrade Chandra Shekhar Azad vowed never to be captured alive and kept that vow in Allahabad in 1931.

Netaji and the Indian National Army

Subhas Chandra Bose broke with the Congress leadership and sought foreign help to free India, leading the Indian National Army during the Second World War. He named its women’s regiment after the Rani of Jhansi.

The architect of equality

B. R. Ambedkar fought for the rights of the oppressed castes and went on to chair the committee that drafted the Constitution of India, embedding equality before the law.

Remembering them together

These leaders often disagreed — sometimes bitterly — about methods and goals. Yet each contributed to the same outcome. Remembering them together is a reminder that India’s freedom was won by many hands, from many regions, castes and faiths.