The unsung warriors of India's Independence

India's freedom struggle which culminated in independence on August 15,1947 was the result of the sacrifices of many a martyr. Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Bhagat SIngh, Mangal Pandey Sardar Patel are names that we have come across in our history books time and again. But the freedom struggle also saw contributions from some unsung warriors whose lives have remained away from the limelight.

As India celebrates her 75th Independence Day, let's turn back the pages of history to get a glimpse of these lesser known martyrs of Indian freedom.

Matangini Hazra

Matangini Hazra (1870-1942) was born in a village named Hogla under Tamluk Thana of Midnapore in West Bengal. In 1932, Matangini participated in Gandhi's civil disobedience movement (Salt Satyagraha), manufactured salt at Alinan salt centre and was arrested for violating the salt act. Always engaged in humanitarian causes, she worked among affected men, women and children when small pox in epidemic form broke out in the region. People lovingly called her ‘Gandhi Buri’ (old lady Gandhi).

During the Quit India movement, Matangini, who was 72 years old, led a procession in Midnapore. The police opened fire and a bullet hit her arm. But undaunted she continued her march. She died when another bullet pierced her forehead.

Khudiram Bose

Khudiram Bose was 18 years old, when he was sentenced to death for his role in the country’s freedom struggle. In 1908, Bose was appointed to kill Muzzaffarpur district magistrate Kingsford, the Chief Magistrate of Calcutta Presidency.

He threw a bomb at a carriage, believed to be carrying Kingsford, outside the European club. But the carriage was occupied by the wife and daughter of barrister Pringle Kennedy, a leading pleader at the Muzaffarpur Bar. Bose walked 25 miles and reached Vaini railway station where he was arrested by two officers and hanged to death on August 11, 1908.

Lakshmi Sahgal

Lakshmi Sahgal aka Captain Lakshmi was a former Indian Army Officer and she first picked up the gun for the Indian National Army (INA) which was founded by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. She was given the responsibility of establishing and leading the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, that had only women soldiers.

In 1971, Sahgal joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and represented the party in the Rajya Sabha. She was one of the founding members of All India Democratic Women's Association. In July 2012, Sahgal suffered a cardiac arrest and breathed her last on July 23, 2012, at the age of 97 at Kanpur.

Begum Hazrat Mahal

Born at Faizabad, Awadh, Begum Hazrat Mahal was one of the few women who challenged the British during the revolt of 1857. Her maiden name was Muhammadi Khanum.

Khanum rose in the ranks to become Begum Hazrat Mahal, one of the Nawab of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah's 'Mutah' or temporary wives. When Awadh was annexed by the British East India Company in 1856, the Nawab was sent into exile to Calcutta. But Begum Hazrat decided to stay back in Lucknow along with her son Birjis Qadir.

In Lucknow, Begum Hazrat often called meetings to encourage soldiers, asking them to be brave and fight for the cause. She wrote letters of instruction for the movement and is reported to have appeared on the battlefield in February 1858, mounted on an elephant.

Under adverse circumstances, Begum with her followers and her son Birjis Qadir escaped to Nepal. She could not return to India and had to reside in Nepal permanently. She died in 1879 and her grave is in Kathmandu.

Madan Lal Dhingra

Madan Lal Dhingra was the sixth of seven children of a civil surgeon. In June 1906, Dhingra left Amritsar for Britain and enrolled in University College, London, to study engineering.

Dhingra arrived in London a year after the foundation of Shyamaji Krishnavarma's India House. This organisation in Highgate was a meeting place for Indian radicals. On July 1, 1909, he attended an 'At Home' hosted by the National Indian Association at the Imperial Institute. At the end of the event, as the guests were leaving, Dhingra shot Sir Curzon-Wyllie, an India Office official, at close range.

Dhingra was immediately arrested. At his trial, Dhingra claimed that he had murdered Curzon-Wyllie as a patriotic act and in revenge for the inhumane killings of Indians by the British Government in India. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was executed at Pentonville Prison on August 17,1909.