Feel Proud!

Our independence was hard fought. The British ruled over our lands for a long time. But then, there are
heroes, aren't there? There are always heroes. The ones who stand up and fight. Some get the spotlight
while some stay in the dark and contribute just as much as the others. This bodes true for India's
freedom fighters as well. For those who fought equally hard but never got any share of the limelight,
because they simply never cared. Their only focus was seeing an independent India. But as citizens of
this country, we should know about some of them. Here are some freedom fighters you probably haven't
heard of:

Kartar Singh Sarabha

The chief architect of the Ghadar Revolution is someone who Bhagat Singh considered his Guru. Sarabha
went to US for studies and came back and set up the Ghadar Party in 1913. His aim was to initiate a
mutiny in the British Indian Army but he fell prey to the betrayal of an insider and was eventually
arrested and hanged.

Alluri Sitaram Raju

Raju was born to a prosperous Kshatriya family but he left everything for the cause of Indian freedom.
Between 1922-24, he led the important Rampa Rebellion against the British with the help of tribal
people. Often referred to as the Manyam Veerudu (Hero of the Jungles) by the locals, he sought to free
the nation as he was deeply affected by the plight of tribals in the Agency areas as they were being
harassed under the Forest Act. Raju was eventually killed by the British in the jungles in 1924 but his
name will remain etched forever in the history of India’s freedom struggle.

Kanaklata Barua

Kanaklata Barua, better known as Birbala, was an Indian freedom fighter from Assam. She participated in
the Quit India Movement crucially and stood chiefly at the head of the women volunteers’ line with the
National Flag in her hand. Her aim was to hoist the national flag at the British dominated Gohpur Police
Station by shouting slogans against the British but was shot along with several other volunteers at the
age of 18!

Pingali Venkayya

Only a handful would know that Venkayya designed the Indian National Flag! Before Independence,
many flags were being used by different groups. To unite the forces and efforts, Venkayya designed one
version of the flag for Indian National Congress which later became the Indian Flag with minor changes
(post-Independence). Forgotten by everyone, Venkayya died in poverty in 1963..

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 their stories of valour lie the foundations of our land. Let’s take a moment to salute them today!
There are so many others whose names have been lost to obscurity. Let us make an effort to
recognize our freedom fighters and remember their contributions