Our Freedom - An Overview

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge...At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance Jawaharlal Nehru Claiming Independence from British Midnight of August 14, 1947.

Vallabhbhai Patel

His brave deeds earned Vallabhbhai Patel the title of the iron man of India. For his role in the Bardoli Satyagraha, Patel came to be called the Sardar. Sardar Patel was a famous lawyer but gave up his practice in order to fight for the freedom of the country. After independence he became the deputy PM of India and played an important role the integration of India by merging numerous princely states with the Indian Union.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Bal Gangadhar Tilak was one of the firebrand freedom fighters of India. He gave the slogan- "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it". To serve the cause of freedom and countrymen Tilak founded schools and published newspapers. Tilak was famous as one of the trios- Bal, Pal and Lal. People loved him and accepted him as their leaders and so he was called Lokmanya Tilak.

Ram Prasad Bismil

Ram Prasad Bismil was one of those young revolutionaries who laid down their life for the sake of the motherland. Bismil was a member of the Hindustan Republican Association and an important member of the group that was involved in the Kakori train dacoity.

Bhagat Singh

The name of Bhagat Singh is synonymous with sacrifice, courage, bravery and vision. By sacrificing his life just at the age of 30 Bhagat Singh became an inspiration and symbol of the heroism. Along with other revolutionaries, Bhagat Singh founded the Hindustan Socialist republican Association. To warn the British government of its misdeeds, Bhagat Singh threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly. By embracing death at an young age Bhagat Singh became a symbol of sacrifice and courage and made a place in the hearts of every Indian for ever.

Khudiram Bose

Khudiram Bose was one of those young revolutionaries and freedom fighters whose deeds of bravery and sacrifice have become the subject of many a folk lore. He was one of those brave men who challenged the British rule in their own style. At the age of nineteen, he became a martyr, with "Vande Mataram" on his lips.

Ashfaqulla Khan

Ashfaqulla Khan was one of the firebrand and young revolutionaries, who laid down their life for the sake of the motherland. An important member of the Hindustan Republican Association, Khan, along with his associates executed the train dacoity at Kakori and was subsequently hanged by the British.

Madame Cama

Madam Cama was one of the greatest women freedom fighters of India and promoted the cause of Indian freedom movement outside India. She was the one who first unfurled India's flag at an international assembly. She discarded the life of luxury and lived an exile- to serve the motherland.

Jatin Banerjee

Jatin Banerjee is popularly known as "Bagha Jatin" for his fearlessness and courage. Jatin Banerjee's name figures among brave freedom fighters of India. His name is a symbol of fearlessness and courage to millions of Indians.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was an active member of the Indian National congress and a great freedom fighter. Maulana Azad took part in most of the important movements. He presided over the special session of Congress in September 1923 and at 35 years of age, was the youngest man to be elected the President of the Congress.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was one of the moderate leaders of the Indian National Congress. He was the political Guru of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation. He also presided over the annual session of the Congress at Benaras in the year 1905. He was also opposed to the entry of the extremists in the Congress.

Jawaharlal Nehru

Pt Jawaharlal Nehru was one of the important people, who struggled for the freedom of India and became the first prime minister of free India. He was also the author of the famous book "Discovery of India". J L Nehru was extremely fond of children and was fondly called "Chacha Nehru". It was under his leadership that India embarked on the planned pattern of economic development.

Subhas Chandra Bose

Known as Netaji (leader), S C Bose was a fierce freedom fighter and a popular leader on the political horizon in pre-independence India. Bose was elected the President of the Indian National Congress in the year 1937 and 1939. He founded the Indian National Army and raised the slogan- "Delhi Chalo" and "Tum Mujhe Khoon Do main Tumhe Ajadi Doonga". For his anti- British remarks and activities, Bose was jailed 11 times between 1920 and 1941. He was the leader of the youth wing of the Congress Party.

Mangal Pandey

Mangal Pande (born (presumably): July 19, 1827, died: 8 April 1857),

Also known as Shaheed Mangal Pande (Shaheed means martyr in Arabic and Hindustani), was a sepoy (soldier) in the 34th Regiment of the Bengal Native Infantry (BNI) of the British East India Company.Pande was born in the village of Nagwa in district Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. There is some dispute over his exact place of birth. One account (Misra, 2005, see below) claims that Mangal Pandey was born in a Bhumihar brahmin family to Divakar Pandey of Surhupur village of Faizabad district’s Akbarpur Tehsil. He joined the British East India Company forces in 1849 at the age of 22, as per this account. Pandey was part of 5th Company of the 34th BNI regiment. He is primarily known for attacking his British officers in an incident that sparked what is known to the British as the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 and to Indians as the First War of Indian Independence.