In his college days, he was arrested as a Political Prisoner accused of

protesting during the freedom struggle in Bilaspur in 1942 and had to pay a
fine during his detention in the Central Jail. I discovered my grandfather
was also a member of the Free Masons and that my grandmother Kamala
too was actively involved in politics since the age of 10!  Even after 35 years
of his demise, people in Bilaspur remember the Doctor. The people of
Bilaspur never fail to mention their eternal gratitude to him.

I  was very young when he passed away. For me he was an old man, but
someone who really enjoyed living, who liked to eat heartily and who’s
happy with whatever he has. And this in spite of the fact that he was blind
and deaf. I would hold his hand and lead him around. From my mother and
grandmother, I came to know that he was involved in the freedom struggle
and went to jail. In fact, his daughter was born when he was in jail.
Upon hearing all this my whole view of him changed. He was someone who
really supported widow remarriage, which was a big deal at the time, of
course. There is an incident to illustrate this more strongly. He pushed for
the remarriage of his sister, who lost her husband when she was really
young.  This showed great foresight and a liberal point of view, especially for
those times. He saw to it that she got married before his own daughter. My
mom also told me he was a very sure judge of character.
 
There are so many stories that I've been listening to from my Grandmother
pertaining to the Quit India Movement. In August 1942, she was about 20
years Old. Once the Call for QUIT INDIA was given by Congress, it was
taken up by various leaders National and local leaders.
Grandmother’s brother, was an active Congress worker. He, along with his
friends, organised non-voilent  dharnas . In the process, they used to get
beaten by the police.
These type of dharnas used to be organised on a daily basis. The overall
leadership in this part of the undivided India was taken care of by Khan
Abdul Ghaffar Khan also called the Frontier Gandhi. In fact it was he was
the one who inspired the youth to take a stand against the British. Even the
girls and women in the organisation were entrusted with responsibilities of
cooking and nursing the injured after the Police brutalities. In those days, my
mothers parents used to object to her participation. But her brother and
other local leaders were instrumental in motivating and convincing the
elders into allowing the women and girl  meanwhile assuring their safety and
dignity. Later on, she got married in 1944. Maybe that was the end of a
budding politician.
Now she is Mrs Asha, who is in the twilight of her long life. 
I remember having heard of my maternal grandfather who fought for
the freedom of the country. His tireless struggle for freedom earned
him the respect of everyone. His village had no electricity, water was
scarce, and a train which passed by the village once a day was the
only connection to the rest of the world.
At a time when the Swadeshi movement was gaining in popularity, a young
man was expelled from school for wearing a gandhi cap. But that did not
affect his will. My grandfather grew up to be a strong follower of Gandhian
ideology. Inspired by the Swadeshi movement, he quit his government job
and joined the Khadi movement. was one among the first few  to promote
Khadi in chhattisgarh. As a part of it, he established a Gandhi Mandiram at
his village.
 
He was arrested almost every other month for his protest against the
British.To make his jail term bearable, where the British motive was to break
the moral of the fighters, my grandfather started following a difficult lifestyle
even when he was at home.He used to sleep under heavy quilts during
summers and with minimum clothing during the winters. His freedom
struggle was passed on as bedtime stories by her grandmother.
My late grandfather, Dukkipati Nageswara Rao, involved himself in the Indian freedom
movement to end the British rule in India. He was a man who was determined to win
freedom with a great vision, and a freedom fighter who rejected violence. He is one of
the many who contributed their time and efforts for Indian independence. And so, the
more you can give of yourself, the more you can give of what you believe, the more you
can discipline, say and do the things you actually believe, strange things start to
happen.

Isn’t there something for all of us to learn from great leaders about power, when it feels
like the right thing to do from deep inside — dreaming and relentlessly pursuing the
impossible!

He belonged to that select breed of freedom fighters that walked the Gandhian path and
contributed his time and efforts to making the freedom movement truly a mass
movement in the country. He was barely twenty when he heeded Gandhi’s call for non-
cooperation against the British and took it to villages. He met Mahatma Gandhi in his
home town near Gudivada during the Independence movement. It was a life-changing
moment for him and he became fascinated with Gandhian philosophy after it.

Chosen as a delegate to a meeting of the Indian National Congress, which the British
declared illegal, he was arrested and sent to jail for two months. My grandfather’s stint
in jail exposed him to even more active politics and nationalism. Along with his congress
membership, he was determined to be very active in the State.

In 1932, Gandhi called for a major nationwide Satyagraha against foreign goods. There
were cries of “Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai.” As they began to move around picketing shops
selling foreign goods, they were arrested, taken to prison and charged with 4-and-a-half
months of rigorous imprisonment. He set a personal example for his people in the years
he spent in prison. He was never arrogant.

In November 1927, the British government appointed the Simon Commission to report on
India’s constitutional progress for introducing constitutional reforms, as promised. The
Commission was strongly opposed by many Indians.
He worked to mend the tears in Indian society and with his character managed to
prevent outbursts of racial hatred. The great freedom fighter, late N.G.Ranga was his
mentor and his political guru. He participated in all the Gandhian non-violent mass
struggles in the three decades before Independence and spent a good part of his life in
various jails. He was a very active political worker and also a very skilful organizer.
All said and done, the family refused voluntarily a few acres of land along with a Tamra
Patra given by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. They said that this is not what we
stood for. This actually means a whole lot of Gandhi’s ideas, influences, words, and
actions mean to people around the world and how they used them for guidance and
gaining independence.

Nageswara Rao’s passion for freedom inspired many people and he was renowned for
the activism against the British authorities. Everyone fought for freedom with great
enthusiasm. Today, whatever development we see is the result of that very struggle.
There are so many unknown and unsung heroes who died for our motherland and the
least we can do is not let their contributions and their sacrifices go in vain.

The numerous Freedom Fighters, with their courage and the true spirit, had faced much
torture, hardships, and exploitation to get freedom. The Independence movement of
India was the ultimate objective and dream of every Indian who lived under British rule.

Every individual during the British rule fought in some way, having a common aim of
abolishing the British and various other colonial authorities ruling over different parts of
India. The Indian Independence struggle saw millions of people with very important
roles who participated in various movements. Some of them include the Revolt of 1857,
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, Non-cooperation Movement, Salt Satyagraha, and Quit
India Movement.

The Salt Satyagraha. Mahatma Gandhi organized a movement against an unjust salt tax in 1929.
India faced innumerable hardships as it went through a long journey that had numerous
national and regional percussions and the two main weapons used were truth and non-
violence.

As the Tricolour flutters in the sky, let each citizen promise to work hard to bring glory,
honour, and power to the country and reach the ultimate goal of making India a great
nation that stands for human values and traditions.

I leave you with my favourite quote, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world,”
said Mahatma Gandhi.

I salute all the freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives. Remembering them,
especially on Independence day.