WOMEN AND INDIA’S INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT

“We record our homage and deep admiration for the Womanhood of India who in the hour of peril for the motherland forsook the shelter of their homes and with unfailing courage and endurance stood shoulder to shoulder with their menfolk, in the frontline of India’s national army to share with them the sacrifices and triumphs of the struggle”.

From a Resolution passed on January 26, 1931.

Role of Indian women:

            The entire history of the freedom movement is replete with the saga of bravery, sacrifice and political sagacity of great men and women of the country. This struggle which gained momentum in the early 20^th century, threw up stalwarts like Mahatma Gandhi, Lala Lajpat Rai, Motilal Nehru, Abul Kalam Azad, C. Rajagopalachari, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Jawaharlal Nehru and Subash Chander Bose. Their number and stature often gives us an erroneous impression that it was only a man’s movement. But it is not so. Many prominent women played a leading role in the freedom movement.

            The important place assigned to women in India dates back to the time of the Vedas and Smritis. Manu declared that where women were adored, Gods frequented that place, During the Vedic age the position of women in society was very high and they were regarded as equal partners with men in all respects. Who had not heard of Maitri, Gargi, Sati Annusuya and Sita?

            In keeping with this tradition, burden of tears and toils of the long years of struggle for India’s freedom was borne by the wives, mothers, and daughters, silently and cheerfully. The programme of self-imposed poverty and periodical jail going was possible only because of the willing co-operation of the worker’s family. In the various resistance movements in the villages, the illiterate women played this passive but contributory part as comrades of their menfolk.

 When the history of India's fight for Independence comes to be written, the sacrifice made by the women of India will occupy the foremost place - Mahatma Gandhi

Woman's participation in India's freedom struggle began as early as 1817 when Bhima Bai Holkar fought bravely against the British colonel Malcolm and defeated him in guerilla warfare. In 1824 Rani Channama of Kittur resisted ate armed might of the East Indian Company.

The role played by women in the Great Revolt of 1857 invited the admiration even leaders of the Revolt Rani of Ramgarh, Rani Jindan Kaur, Rani Tace Bai, Baiza Bai, Chauhan Rani, Tapasvini Maharani daringly led their troops into the battlefield.

Till that last century India was plagued with many social evils like sati, polygamy, ban on widow remarriage, child marriage and the denial of property rights to women. Various reform movements initiated by Raja Ram Mohun Roy, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Swami Vivekananda, Ishwar Chandra Vidhyasagar, and others were working hard to bring about social change.

The remarkable progress made by some Indian women in the short span of half a century is a great deal due to the social movements of the time.

Gandhi himself upon joining the freedom struggle was to assert that Swaraj(freedom) would be meaningless without change in the social structure. Women must fight for their rights. It would be wrong to imagine that you rights will be given to you or that they will drop down from somewhere, if you simply sit at home.

The police had adopted all sorts of methods in dealing with women. They were dragged along the road, beaten with lathis and even whipped. Their sarees were torn and they were abused in the foulest language.

Jawaharlal Nehru had remarked, when most of the men-folk were in prison then a remarkable thing happened. Our women came forward and took charge of the struggle. Women had always been there of course but now there was an avalanche of them, which took not only the British Government but their own menfolk by surprise.

Woman's participation in India's freedom struggle began as early as 1817 when Bhima Bai Holkar fought bravely against the British colonel Malcolm and defeated him in guerilla warfare. In 1824 Rani Channama of Kittur resisted ate armed might of the East Indian Company.
The initiative, courage and leadership women displayed in the political movements for Independence from colonial rule have given them far reaching importance in the Indian society.  During the uprising of 1857, women of the ruling class came together along with the men to fructify their ambition for an independent India. Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar and the famous Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi had become cult figures in the Indian political arena.  They were equated with the all pervading Mother Goddess which India professes to worship.  After the humiliating defeat of 1857, the British Government replaced the East India Company and British rule became a historical fact.  The seed of National Movement for India's independence started with the early 19^th Century social reform and education programmes initiated by important social reformers such as Raja Rammohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar,  Maharishi Karve and others, as well as the Brahmo Samaj and the Arya Samaj.   

The story of women's role in the national struggle for Independence cannot be restricted to one type of activity such as the non-violent Satyagraha Movement, but included violent/armed revolution and movement for social change as well.  Women's early contribution to the national movement started in the late 19^th Century with women's participation in the Indian National Congress.   In 1890, Swaran Kumari Ghoshal, a women novelist and Kadambari Ganguly (nee Das), the first woman graduate of the  British Empire, attended the INC meeting as delegates.   The National Movement for Independence took an important turn with the partition of Bengal in 1905.  Women joined men in protesting this division by boycotting foreign goods and buying only swadeshi goods, i.e. goods produced in the province of Bengal.   Mrs. Nonibala Devi joined the new Jugantar Party which was dedicated to violent movement in the early 20^th Century.  Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who returned to India from South Africa in 1915, took up the demand for self rule and later for poorna swaraj through non-violent methods.  His clarion call to join the Satyagraha Movement saw  women getting involved in all his programmes. Some of the important women who played a very active role in the Swadeshi Movement were Dr. Sarojini Naidu, Smt. Urmila Devi, the widowed sister of the Congress leader C.R. Das, Smt. Basanti Devi, wife of C.R. Das, Biamma, the mother of Shokat Ali and Mohmad Ali, leader of All India Khilafat Committee, Durgabai Deshmukh, Smt. S. Ambujammal and Krishnabai Ram of Madras. Women of educated and enlightened families, as well as those from the rural areas joined Gandhiji in his non-cooperation movement. Sarla Devi, Muthulaxmi Reddy, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Susheela Nair, Sucheta Kripalani and Aruna Asaf Ali are some the women who participated in the non-violent movement.  Kasturba Gandhi, the illustrious wife of Mahatma Gandhi, and the women of the Nehru family, Kamla Nehru, wife of Jawaharlal Nehru, Mrs. Vijayalaxmi Pandit, his sister and Swarup Rani, his mother also joined the National Movement. Lado Rani Zutshi and her daughters Manmohini, Shyama and Janak led the movement in Lahore.  Women who joined the national movement were not only from the higher strata of Indian society, but from all walks of life, all castes, religions and communities.

While there were significant number of women patriots who stood by Gandhiji and the Congress in the non-violent Movement, women of Bengal and from other parts of India also played a vital role in the armed revolution.  Women played a major role in the Lahore Students Union of Bhagat Singh and the Kakori case. The Mahila Rashtriya Sangha was set up in 1928 by Latika Ghosh, an Oxford educated teacher.  Veena Das who shot at the Governor of Bengal, and Kamla Das Gupta and Kalyani Das  were all active within the revolutionary groups. In April 1930, the Indian Republican Army, a revolutionary group led by Surya Sen, attacked the city armoury of Chittagong.  Kalyani Das, Priti Lata Waddedar,  and other women were part of this revolutionary attack. Women fearlessly participated in violent and non-violent movements.

The Indian National Army (INA), which was set up by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, was one of the most sincere and fearless movements undertaken by Indian men and women under the able and impressive leadership of this great patriot.  His soul stirring call "Give me blood and I promise you freedom" brought together thousands of men and women from India and South East Asia, who were ready to sacrifice their lives at the alter of armed uprising against the British.  Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose recruited about 1000 women for the Rani of Jhani Regiment from different South East Asian countries.  This regiment was led by Dr. Lakshmi Swaminathan, who was a medical doctor by profession.  There were ranis as young as Janaki Davar who joined the INA at the age of seventeen.  The women in the regiment were given the same training as that given to men. Even their uniform was similar to the men soldiers.  The real impact of the INA may not have been in military terms, but it had a psychological impact on the women of India.  

While on one side women fought for independence, on the other they also set up women's organisations to impress upon the foreign government to improve the social, legal and economic position of women of India.  National workers and eminent patriots such as Annie Besant, Mrs. Margaret Cousins, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Muthulakshmi Reddy, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Rustomji Faridoonji, Begum Hamid Ali, Renuka Ray, etc. worked for the upliftment of women. 

The list of women who participated in the freedom struggle is impressive, and these women not only fought for the freedom of the country, but were instrumental in fighting for the cause of women

Rani Laxmibai

            The first name that comes to mind is that of the famous Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi. Dressed in men’s clothes, she led her soldiers to war against the British. Even her enemies admired her courage and daring. She fought valiantly and although beaten she refused to surrender and fell as a warrior should, fighting the enemy to the last. Her remarkable courage inspired many men and women in India to rise against the alien rule.

 The greatest however was Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi whose heroism and superb leadership laid an outstanding example for all future generations of women freedom fighters. Married to Gangadhar Rao head of the state of Jhansi. She was not allowed to adopt a successor after his death by the British, and Jhansi was annexed.

With the outbreak of the Revolt she became determined to fight back. She used to go into the battlefield dressed as a man. Holding the reins of there horse in her mouth she used the sword with both hands. Under her leadership the Rani's troops showed undaunted courage and returned shot for shot. Considered by the British as the best and bravest military leader of rebels this sparkling epitome of courage died a hero's death in the battlefield.

 Begum Hazrat Mahal

            Another woman whom we remember in this connection was Begum Hazrat Mahal, the Begaum of Oudh. She took active part in the defence of Lucknow against the British. Although, she was queen and used to a life of luxury, she appeared on the battle-field herself to encourage her troops. Begam Hazrat Mahal held out against the British with all her strength as long as she could. Ultimately she had to give up and take refuge in Nepal.

            During the later half of the 20^th century the struggle for freedom gained momentum and more women took leading part in it.

 BEGUM HAZRAT MAHAL

Begum Hazrat Mahal was also known as Begum of Avadh. During the First War of Independence in 1957-58 the British deported her husband Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow to Calcutta. The Begum joined hands with the mutineers and seized control of Lucknow. She rejected with contempt the promises of allowance and status held out to her by the British and resisted the British forces with all her might. she, however, could not hold out for long and escaped to Nepal where she died in 1879

Kasturba Gandhi

            The life companion of the Father of the Nation contributed her mite to the freedom movement in a subtle manner. As the closest associate of Gandhiji during his epic struggle in South Africa and in India, she suffered in no small measure.

            One simply marvels and wonders how this quiet self-effacing woman underwent countless trails as Gandhiji’s wife, and how gallantly she agreed to the Mahatma’s endless experiments and self-imposed life of poverty and suffering.

Kasturba Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's wife joined her husband while he was in South Africa and worked with him for many years there. She was a leader of Women's Satyagraha for which she was imprisoned. She helped her husband in the cause of Indigo workers in Champaran, Bihar and the No Tax Campaign in Kaira, Gujarat. She was arrested twice for picketing liquor and foreign cloth shops, and in 1939 for participating in the Rajkot Satyagraha.

KASTURBA GANDHI (1869-1944).

She was the daughter of Gokuladas Makharji of Porbunder. She was married to Gandhi at the age of 13. Simple and self- effacing she stood devotedly by her great husband in all his trials and tribulations. She was in the thick of the Freedom Movement and went to jail several times. The shock of country wide arrests during Quit India Movement deteriorated her health and she suffered a severe heart attack. She breathed her last on 22-2-1944. 

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Swarup Rani and Kamala

            The mother of Jawaharlal Nehru, Swarup Rani Nehru cheerfully gave her husband and children to the country’s cause and herself, old and trail entered the pray at its thickest.

            Jawaharlal’s brave wife, Kamala; kept smiling all through the long years of travail of her brief life.

            Kamala Nehru was a flame that flickered briefly in the raging storm of the freedom movement in India. Not everybody knows that she braved lathi-charges, picketed liquor shops and languished in jail for the cause of Indian independence. She influenced her husband Jawaharlal and stood by him in his determination to plunge into the movement started by Mahatma Gandhi, to free the mother Mahatma Gandhi, to free the motherland from the clutches of the British rulers.

            With Jawaharlal away in prison, Kamala took to social work to begin with. She started a dispensary in her house in Allahabad and also started a movement for women’s education and to get them out of purdah.

            As a member of the Rashtriya Stree Sabha which was set up on a Jallianwala Day in 1921, Kamala Nehru worked for the entry of Harijan into temples.

            Kamala Nehru was first among the group of volunteers to sell contraband salt during the Salt Satyagraha. All through the long months of 1930, the Desh Sevika Sangh which she led along with Kusturba Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu, did hard jobs like policing disturbed areas in Bombay. While the men were in jail, they took over.

 Many women of the Nehru family too had joined the Civil Disobedience Movement. Kamala Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru's wife gave full support to her husband in his desire to work actively for the freedom struggle. In the Nehru hometown of Allahabad she organized processions, addressed meetings and led picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops. She played a prominent part in organizing the No Tax Campaign in United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh).

KAMALA NEHRU (1899-1936)

She was the daughter of Pandit Jawaharlal Mul, a businessman of Delhi. Married to Jawaharlal Nehru at the age of 17 she gave birth to the only daughter Indira Priyadarshini. Within 3 years of marriage her husband plunged into Non-cooperation Movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Kamala was a woman of great courage and determination and she also threw herself into the Civil Disobedience Movement and the historic Dandi March by Mahatma Gandhi. Her brave and heroic role in the freedom struggle left an indelible imprint on the Nationalist Movement. She died at a very young age on 28-02-1936

Sarojini Naidu:

            Great as a poet and orator, Sarojini Naidu was one of the most enlightened women of modern India.

She was one among the many men and women who dedicated their lives for the freedom struggle of the counry under the guidance of Gandhiji. At a very young age she wrote many patriotic poems which inspired people in India to throw off the foreign yoke. She joined the Home Rule movement launched by Annie Besant. This was her first step in politics. On the call of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, she joined the Indian National Congress in 1915. She propounded the idea of Swarajya in her powerful speech at the Lucknow Conference in 1916. in 1921 she participated in the Non-Cooperation movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi. She became President of the Congress in 1925. When Mahatma Gandhi started his Civil disobedience movement in 1930, Sarojini Naidu became his principal assistant. She was arrested along with Gandhiji and other leaders. But this did not deter her spirits. In 1931, she was invited along with Gandhiji to the Second Round Table Conference in London. In 1942, Sarojini Naidu joined the “Quit India” movement launched by Gandhiji and again was victim of the wrath of the British government and jailed. The repeated jail terms only gave her more courage and she continued to take active part in the freedom movement. After India became independent in 1947, she was appointed Governor of Uttar Pradesh as a token of recognition of her services.

 The other remarkable woman elected to the presidentship Indian National Congress was Sarojini Naidu. She became its president in 1925. Sarojini loved poetry and had been composing verses in English since an early age. At the age of 15 she fell in love with Dr.Govindrajulu Naidu whom she alter married. A dramatic meeting with another respected leader of time, Gokhle, in 1906 was to change her life forever. His response to her fiery speech brought into her life the impact of a visionary who saw in her oratory and brilliance a leader of the future.

The period from 1917 to 1919 was the most dynamic phase of Sarojini's career. During this time, she campaigned for the Montagu Chelmsford Reforms, the Khilafat issue, the draconian Rowlett Act and the Satyagraha. When Gandhi launched the Civil Disobedience Movement on April 6, 1919 she proved a faithful lieutenant. With great courage she quelled the rioters, sold proscribed literature, addressed frenzied meetings on the carnage at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar.

In 1930 when Mahatma Gandhi chose her to lead the Salt Satyagraha the stories of her courage became legion. After Gandhi's arrest she had prepared 2,000 volunteers under the scorching sun to raid the Dahrsana Salt Works, while the police faced them half a mile up the road with rifle, lathis (canes) are steel tipped clubs. The volunteers wildly cheered when she shook off the arm of the British police officer who came to arrest her and marched proudly to the barbed wire stockade where she was interned before being imprisoned.

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Freedom struggle was in full force and she came under the influence of Gopalakrishna Gokhale  and Gandhi. Gokhale advised her to spare all her energy and talents for nation's cause. She gave up writing poetry and fully devoted herself to emancipation of women, education, Hindu-Muslim unity etc. She became a follower of Gandhiji and accompanied him to England. Whenever in England, she openly criticized British rule in India which caught the attention of scholars and intellectuals.

Padmaja Naidu

            Sarojini’s daughter Miss Padmaja Naidu devoted herself to the cause of Nation like her mother. At the age of 21, she entered the National scene and became the joint founder of the Indian National Congress of Hyderabad. She spread the message of Khadi and inspired people to boycott foreign goods. She was jailed for taking part in the “Quit India” movement in 1942. After Independence, she became the Governor of West Bengal. During her public life spanning over half a century, she was associated with the Red Cross. Her services to the Nation and especially her humanitarian approach to solve problems will long be remembered.

Vijay Laxmi Pandit

            Sister of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru also played a great role in the freedom movement. She was elected to Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 1936 and in 1946. She was the first woman in India to hold a ministerial rank. She was imprisoned thrice for taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1932. 1941 and 1942. After Independence, she continued to serve the country. She was the first woman to become president of the United Nations General Assembly.

 Jawaharlal Nehur's sister Vijayalakshmi Pandit inspired by Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi and impressed by Sarojini Naidu entered the Non Cooperation Movement. She was arrested in 1932 and sent to and sentenced to one year's rigorous imprisonment. She was arrested in 1940, and yet again during the Quit India Movement. She attended the Pacific Relations Conference at Hot Springs, U.S.A. as leader of the Indian delegation sponsored by the Indian Council of World Affairs. She was present in San Francisco when the U.N first met there, and through numerous well attended public lectures she challenged the British dominated delegates rights to represent India therein.

VIJAYALAXMI PUNDIT (1900-1990)

She was the younger sister of Jawaharlal Nehru. She was the first woman to be elected president of the United Nations General Assembly (1953-54). She joined the National Movement inspired by Gandhiji's call and courted arrest in 1932 and 1940. She served as ambassador of India in USSR, USA, Mexico, Ireland and Spain and also as High Commissioner of UK. She was elected to Loksabha in 1952 and 1964 and served as Governor of Maharashtra during 1962-64.

Sucheta Kripalani

            The contribution of Sucheta Kripalani in the struggle for freedom is also worthy of note. She courted imprisonment for taking part in freedom struggle. She was elected as a member of Constituent Assembly in 1946. She was general secretary of Indian National Congress from 1958 to 1960, and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1963 to 1967. Sucheta Kripalani was in the words of Shrimati Indira Gandhi, “a person of rare courage and character who brought credit to Indian womanhood.”

 Indira Gandhi

            The most remarkable of women in modern India’s was Indira Gandhi who from her early years was active in the national liberation struggle. During the 1930 movement, she formed the ‘Vanar Sena’. A children’s brigade to help freedom fighters.

            She became a member of the Indian National Congress in 1938. Soon after her return to India in March 1941, she plunged into political activity.

            Her public activity entered a new phase with India’s Independence in 1947. She took over the responsibility of running the Prime Minister’s House. The Congress, which had been her political home ever since her childhood, soon drew her into leading political roles, first as member of the Congress Working Committee in 1955 and later as member of the Central Parliamentary Board in 1958. In 1959, she was elected President of the Indian National Congress. She oriented Congress thinking and action towards basic issues confronting Indian society and enthused the younger generation the task of nation-building.

            In the eventful years of her leadership as Prime Minister, Indian society underwent profound changes. She was unremitting in her endeavour for the unity and solidarity of the nation. A staunch defender of the secular ideals of the Constitution, she worked tirelessly for the social and economic advancement of the minorities. She had a vision of a modern self-reliant and dynamic economy. She fought boldly and vigorously against communalism, obscurantism, re-vivalism and religious fundamentalism of all types. She repeatedly warned the nation that communalism and obscuranatism were the tools employed by the forces of destabilization. She laid down her life in defence of the ideals on which the unity and integrity of the Republic are founded. The martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi and Indira Gandhi for upholding the unity of India will reverberate across the centuries.

            Rarely in history has one single individual come to be identifie do totally with the fortunes of a country. She became the indomitable symbol of India’s self-respect and self-confidence. Death came to her when she was at her peak, when her stature and influence were acclaimed the world over.

 Indira Gandhi, daughter of Jawaharlal and Kamla Nehur founded the Bal Chakra Sangh and Vaner Sena to help the Congress in the non-riot affected areas of Delhi under Gandhi's directions.

INDIRA GANDHI (1917-1984) 

Born in Allahabad she had education in Switzerland, Oxford, Bombay, Pune and at Shantiniketan. She married Feroz Gandhi in 1942 and had two sons Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. 

She provided dynamic leadership to the country as Prime Minister from 1966 - 1977 and again from 1980-1984. She abolished privy purses, nationalized Banks and launched a twenty - point programme for the eradication of poverty in the country. She had been the recipient of many International and National awards including Bharat Ratna in 1972 She was assassinated on the morning of 31-10-1984 and India lost a most charismatic leader in her death. INDIRA GANDHI (1917-1984) 

Born in Allahabad she had education in Switzerland, Oxford, Bombay, Pune and at Shantiniketan. She married Feroz Gandhi in 1942 and had two sons Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. 

She provided dynamic leadership to the country as Prime Minister from 1966 - 1977 and again from 1980-1984. She abolished privy purses, nationalized Banks and launched a twenty - point programme for the eradication of poverty in the country. She had been the recipient of many International and National awards including Bharat Ratna in 1972 She was assassinated on the morning of 31-10-1984 and India lost a most charismatic leader in her death.

FOREIGN WOMEN IN THE INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT OF INDIA

            Besides the hundreds and thousands of Indian women who dedicated their lives for the cause of their motherland, there were a number of noble and courageous foreign women who saw in India – its religion, its philosophy and its culture, a hope for the redemption of the world. They thought that in India’s spiritual death shall world find its grave.

            These noble women were sick of the material west and found in India and in its civilization, solace for their cramped souls.

            First of all we will take up those who were influenced by the great men of India like Swami Vivekananda, Aurobindo Ghosh, Mahatma Gandhi, and came to this country to serve it.

Sister Nivedita

            ‘Here reposes Sister Nivedita who gave her all to India’

-          Epitaph on her Samadhi.

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Sister Nivedita was one among the host of foreign women who were attracted towards Swami Vivekananda and Hindu philosophy. Born in Ireland on 28 October 1867, she arrived in India in January, 1898, in search of truth. She was impressed by the ideals of Womanhood in India. She once remarked that India was the land of great women. She, however, felt that Indian women needed, to cultivate among themselves a wider and broader concept of the nation, so that they could participate along with men in building a free and strong nation.

      On the death of her spiritual Master, Swami Vivekananda, she freed herself from the obligations of the Monastic Order, spoke and wrote against the British policy in India. She attacked Lord Curzon for the Universities Act of 1904 and partition of Bengal in 1905. She held the British responsible for disastrous state of Indian economy; she attended the Benares Congress in 1905 and supported the Swadeshi Movement. She helped Nationalist groups like the Dawn Society and the Anusilan Samiti. She was a member of the Central Council of Action formed by Aurobindo Ghosh and took up the editorship of the Karmayogin when he left for Pondicherry.

      She propagated for the cause of India throughout America and Europe. Swami Vivekananda described her as a real Lioness. Rabindranath Tagore regarded her as Lok-Mata  and Aurobindo Ghosh as Agni-sikha.

The Mother

      Mira Alphonse, the Mother, was born in Paris in 1978. She had shown depth of vision and fragrance of expression even in her early childhood. She came to India in 1914 and met Shri Aurobindo. She was associated with the work of Shri Aurobindo when he started a philosophical monthly named Arya on August 15, 1914, to express his vision of man and his divine destiny.

      She took charge of Ashram in Pondicherry in 1926. She was the inspirer of Auroville, the international town near Pondicherry. It was to serve as a meeting place for the followers of Shri Aurobindo.

      Paying her tribute to the Mother at a women’s gathering in Kanpur the late Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi said: “The Mother was a dynamic lady, who came from France and adopted the Indian culture. She played an important role in motivating women like Mrs. Annie Besant and Mrs. Nellie Sen Gupta, The Mother had also contributed to enrich India’s age-old heritage and culture”.

Mira Behn

      Mira Behn, or Mira as she was most often called was the western world’s acknowledgement of guilt and the will to atone for it. This was not at all in her won consciousness, but in that which put her forth. Gandhi did not evoke her. The most he did was to tell her she could come if she wished. She came as a daughter not only of the western mind but, specifically, of that class which had made and governed the British empire in India. Her father had been the naval commander-in-chief there.

      This is how Madeleine Slade brought up in affluent environment of a proud aristocracy came to serve the cause of India’s freedom by identifying herself completely with the life and work of Gandhi, who promised to Romain Rolland that he would leave no stone unturned, to assist her to become a bridge between the East and the West.

       Daughter of a British Admiral Madeleine Slade renounced the life of luxury and worked in the service of India. She accompanied Gandhi to England in 1931 and undertook a tour of America and Britain in 1934 to enlist sympathy for the Indian cause. She suffered imprisonment in 1932-33 and 1942-44 for the cause of India’s Independence.

 Meera Ben and Sarla Ben popularly known as Mahatama Gandhi's two English daughters also made significant contribution to the cause of freedom.

Meera Ben whose real name was Madeleine Slade attended the second Round Table Conference with Gandhi. She sent news releases concerning Gandhi's campaign to the world press for which the government repeatedly threatened her, but she continued her work. She undertook Khadi tour throughout the country. She was arrested for entering the city of Bombay in violation of the government order. Catherine Mary Heilman or Sarla Ben as she was better known, went from village to village helping the families of political prisoners

Dr. Annie Besant

      Dr. Annie Besant, along with Charles Braudlaugh, it is said, did more than anyone had done in a hundred years to break down the barriers of bigotry and prejudice, who won the greatest victories of their times for the freedom of speech and liberty of the press which Britain enjoys today.

      A strong votary of truth, she came to India in 1893 at the age of 46, impressed as she was by its great religion and philosophy. On arrival, she found that the state of things in India were bad, and that the Indians had almost lost their moorings. Through her lectures, she tried to awaken them to their lost heritage by dedicating herself to the cause of religion, society and education of India. In doing so, she was watchful that Indian revival must be through Indian traditions and customs and not through any of the European concepts. As early as 1898 and later in 1902 she urged Indians to were native dress, use and develop Indian manufacturers and also develop a national language.

Dr. Annie Besant entered active politics in 1914. She demanded Home Rule for India and suffered internment for it from June to September 1917. By then she had tried and achieved unification of the Congress and Hindus and Muslims in 1916. She had done ample work to formulate favourable opinion about the Indian question in outside world. The August declaration of 1917 is attributed to her efforts.

      She fittingly became the president of Indian National Congress in 1917. Tilak declared that if we were nearer our goals, it was due to Dr. Annie Besant’s sincere efforts. Gokhale considered her a true daughter of Mother India. Subash considered her a doughty fighter for Indian freedom. Jawaharlal Nehru said that in India, her memory would endure, especially for the part she played in our freedom struggle in the dark days of the Great War and afterwards. Sarojini Naidu, had this to say.

      “Had it not been for her and her enthusiasm, one could not have seen Mr. Gandhi leading the cause of Indian freedom today. It was Mrs. Besant who laid the foundation of modern India – Dr. Besant was a combination of Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati

Annie Besant an Irish lady became the leader of the of the Theosophical Society. In 1902 while in London she criticized England for the conditions prevalent in India. In 1914 she joined the Indian National Congress and gave it a new direction.

The idea of the Home Rule League was first discussed by her. She with the radical congress leader Tilak presented a memorial to Montagu on December 18, 1917 which gave equal rights to women in the matters of political franchise. She was the first woman president of the Congress and gave a powerful lead to women's movement in India.

3.  SAROJINI NAIDU
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4.KASTURBA GANDHI

 6.ARUN ASAF ALI
 

7.Indira Gandhi
 
 

8.KAMLA NEHRU AND VIJAYALAXMI PANDIT
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9.MADAM CAMA
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10.BEGUM HAZRAT MAHAL

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11.Padmaja Naidu
 
 
 

12.Sucheta Kripalani
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ANNIE BESANT
 

MEERA BEN AND SARLA BEN
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Indian poet and political leader. Born Sarojini Chattopadhyay, she was educated in Madras and at King’s College, London, and Cambridge. In 1898 she married Dr. M. G. Naidu. Her poetry, originally published in three volumes—The Golden Threshold (1905), The Bird of Time (1912), and The Broken Wing (1915)—was written in English but deals, in a romantic vein, with Indian themes. She was active in the Indian National Congress and in 1925 became its first woman president. Participation in passive disobedience campaigns brought her several jail sentences. She was a close associate of Mohandas Gandhi and served (1947–49) as governor of the United Provinces.

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See her verses collected in The Sceptred Flute (1928) and The Feather of the Dawn (1961); biography by P. Sengupta (1966).