Bibi Amatus Salam

BIBI AMATUS SALAM

Date of Birth: 1907 and Date of Death: 29^th October, 1985

            Bibi Amatus Salam, who strongly believed that freedom could be achieved from the slavery of British, through the Gandhian way methods only, was born in 1907 in Patiala of Punjab in Rajputhana family.  Her father was Colonel Abdul Hamid and her mother Amatur Rehaman.  Amatus Salam was the younger sister of six elder brothers.  Her health was very delicate since her childhood.  She was inspired by her eldest brother, freedom fighter Mohammad Abdur Rashid Khan.  Following the footsteps of her brother, she decided to serve the people of the country in his footsteps.  Amatus Salam participated in the Khadi Movement and attended the meetings of the Indian National Movement along with her brother.  She was attracted towards the Non-Violence theory of Mahatma Gandhi and Sevagram Ashram.  She decided to join in Sevagram Ashram, and went there in 1931.  She joined Ashram and followed the strict principles of the Ashram.  With herself less service she became very close to Gandhi couple.  They considered Amatus Salam as their beloved daughter.  During the Indian National Movement, she went to jail along with other women in 1932 despite her illness with the permission of Gandhi.  After being released from Jail, she reached Sevagram and took over the responsibilities as Personal Assistant of Gandhi.  She said that besides with achieving independence, harmony between the Hindus and Muslims, Welfare of the Harijans and Women were her life ambitions.  When communal riots erupted, she toured North-West Frontier, Sindh and Noukhali areas as an ambassador of Gandhi.  She held Satyagraha for 20 days to normalise the situation in those areas.  After Independence, she rededicated herself to the Public Service.  She published an Urdu Magazine called ‘Hindustan’ to promote national integration and communal harmony.  When Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan toured in India in 1961, she travelled with him as his personal assistant.  When India was at war with China in 1962 and with Pakistan in 1965, she took all the pains in reaching the mountains or war area along with her adopted son Sunil Kumar to encourage our soldiers and to serve them.  Bibi Amatus Salam, who spent all her life following the Gandhian ideology, breathed her last on 29^th October, 1985.

Begum Nishatunnisa Mohani

BEGUM NISHATUNNISA MOHANI

Date of Birth: 1884 and Date of Death: 18^th April, 1937

            Begum Nishatunnisa Mohani, who was praised by Gandhiji for her sharp criticism of his views and ideas on total independence concept, was born in 1884 in Awadh, Uttar Pradesh state.  Her father was Syed Shabib Hassan Mohani.  She was service oriented from a very young age.  She got married to Moulana Hasrat Mohani, who was known for his militant approach in the Indian freedom movement.  Begum Nishatunnisa Mohani joined the Indian National Congress in 1904.  When there was a split among the Congress leaders as moderates and radicals in 1907, she went along with her husband took the side of Bala Gangadhar Tilak.  When the British government first time arrested her husband Moulana Hasrat Mohani for publishing an anti-British article in his newspaper ‘Urdu-e-Mualla’, Nishatunnisa faced the critical situation with great courage.  Begum Nishatunnisa Mohani wrote a letter to her husband, who was in Jail saying ‘Face the dangers fallen upon you courageously.  Don not thinks about me.  No weakness should be expressed from you.  Take care’.  She fought several legal battles against the Government whenever her husband was arrested.  She continued the publication of the newspaper ‘Urdu-e-Mualla’ which was started by her husband, during his imprisonment.  Begum Nishatunnisa Mohani questioned Mr. Montague ‘Why are you not liberating the detained Freedom Fighters in India, while you are releasing the revolutionaries in Ireland?’, when she met him along with the Congress representatives.  She played an active role in the Khilafat – Non Cooperation Movement.  Begum Nishatunnisa Mohani started ‘Aligarh Khilafat Store’, the first Khadi Garments Store in the country to support the Non Cooperation magazine ‘Young India’ on 19^th May, 1920.  Mahatma Gandhi wrote an exclusive article applauding her role in the Movement.  Nishatunnisa Mohani distanced herself from the Indian National Congress and its politics after 1924 along with her husband Moulana Hasrat Mohani.  Begum Nishatunnisa Mohani, who dedicated herself to the Trade Union Movement after leaving the Congress, passed away on 18^th April, 1937 at Kanpur.

Abadi Bano Begum

ABADI BANO BEGUM

Date of Birth: 1852 and Date of Death: 13^th November, 1924

            Abadi Bano Begum, who took active part at par with men in the Indian National Movement, was born in 1852 in Amroha village, Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh.  She was married to Abdul Ali Khan of the Princely State Rampur.  Though she lost her husband at a young age, she did not remarry.  She had two sons Moulana Mohammed Ali, Moulana Showkath Ali, who were famous as ‘Ali Brothers’.  She nurtured her children, into becoming memorable leaders of the Indian Independence Movement.  Her involvement in the freedom movement began with the Home Rule Movement, to which she rendered moral and most importantly, financial support.  When the British government detained the Ali Brother in Chindanwad village, under the Indian Defence Regulations, she went along with them.  When a police official proposed for the surrender of her sons, she bluntly refused saying, ‘If my sons agree to the proposal of the government, I will kill them by strangulation.  I hope God will bestow enough energy into this old woman’s hands.  Abadi Bano met Mahatma Gandhi in 1917 for the first time.  There after Mahatma Gandhi always addressed her ‘Ammijan’ and all other freedom fighters followed Gandhi’s address.  She helped Mahatma Gandhi and other Khilafat leaders financially for undertaking all India tours.  She attended the Indian National Congress and the All India Muslim League sessions in 1917, held at Calcutta.  She spoke in those meetings emphasising that complete freedom could be achieved only by unifying the Hindus and Muslims.  She also played a constructive role in the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement in 1919.  She declared in several meetings that ‘it was her ambition that he dogs and cats of her country should not be under the slavery of the British’.  The fact that the British government official records treated her as a ‘dangerous person’ established the kind of challenge she hurled at to the colonial rule.  Apart from participating in politics she also guided several women’s organisations all over India.  So intensely patriotic and nationalist that Abadi Bano Begum did not even care for ripe old age and illness to serve the national cause.  Such great ‘Ammijan’ of mother India, Abadi Bano Begum breathed her last on 13^th November, 1924.

Begum Hazrat Mahal

BEGUM HAZRAT MAHAL

Date of Birth: 1830 and Date of Death: 7^th April, 1879

            Begum Hazrat Mahal, a prominent women hero of 1857 rebellion, was born in 1830 Faizabad of Uttar Pradesh.  Her name is Muhammadi Khanum.  Her father is Gulam Hussain of Faizabad.  At her tender age itself, she showed good talent in literature.  She was married to Wajid Ali Shah, the Nawab of Awadh.  They were blessed with a son Mirza Birjis Khadir Bahadur.  On 13^th February, 1856, the British troops imprisoned Wajid Ali Shah.  They sent him to Calcutta on 13^th March and occupied Awadh illegitimately.  This irked the people and native rulers.  They revolted against the British under the leadership of Begum Hazrat Mahal.  The native rulers and people met at Chavani area of Lucknow, the capital of Awadh on 31^st May, 1857 and declared independence.  They taught a lesson to the British troops and wiped out their power in Lucknow.  Later, Begum Hazrat Mahal declared her son Birjis Khadir as the Nawab of Awadh on 7^th July, 1857.  As the king’s mother, she gathered 1,80,000 troops and renovated the Lucknow fort spending huge amount of money.  She established a high level committee for the good governance of the state in which she appointed members like Mummu Khan, Maharaja Balakrishna, Babu Purna Chand, Munshi Ghulam Hazrat, Mohammad Ibrahim Khan, Raja Man Singh, Raja Desibaksh Singh, Raja Beni Prasad and others.  Sharaf-ud-Doula was appointed as Chief Minister and Raja Jail Lal Sing as a Collector.  Hazrat Mahal ruled the state on behalf of her son for about ten months and challenged the British force by inspiring patriotism among the people and the fellow native rulers.  She issued a historical statement on 31^st December, 1858 challenging the proclamation issued by the Queen Victoria on 1^st November, 1858.  But, when Delhi, the prime center for the First War of Independence was captured, the British troops surrounded and attacked Lucknow in March, 1859.  There was a fierce battle between the Company troops and the Begum troops.  When defeat became inevitable, Begum Hazrat Mahal retreated to the Nepal forests along with the co-revolutionary leaders like Nana Sahib Peshwa and others.  The British rulers offered her huge amount of money and luxurious facilities in order to bring her back to Lucknow.  But, the Begum denied them and made it clear that nothing else was acceptable to her except Independent Awadh state.  Begum Hazrat Mahal was struggling for the independence of her state till her last breath.  She passed away at Khatmound of Nepal on 7^th April, 1879.  In 1984 Government of India released a postal stamp in her honour.

Annie Besant Indian Freedom Fighter Social Activist

Annie Besant Indian Freedom Fighter Social Activist

ANNIE BEASANT (1847- 1933):
            An Irish English woman, who came to India in 1839 to work for the Theosophical Society and established her home in Varnasi, where she founded the Central Hindu College in 1898.  In 1907, she was elected President of the Theosophical Society.  She ardently worked for India’s independence.  In 1914, she began the publication of the Commonweal and New India, which became the chief organs for the tempestuous propaganda for India’s freedom.  In 1915 she founded the Home Rule League to launch the Home Rule Movement and was made President of the Calcutta session of the Congress in 1917.  The same year, she established the Indian Boy Scouts Association and also the Indian Women’s Association.  She founded a number of schools and colleges.  The National University at Adyar was founded by her in 1918.

Mahadevi Varma Indian Freedom Fighter Activist Educationist

Mahadevi Varma Indian Freedom Fighter Activist Educationist

MAHADEVI VARMA was born on 26^th March, 1907 and died on Death: 11^th September, 1987
Mahadevi Varma (26^th March, 1907 - 11^th September, 1987) best known as an outstanding Hindi poet, was a freedom fighter, woman’s activist and educationist from India.  She is widely regarded as the “modern Meera” [citation needed].  She was a major poet of the Chhayavaad generation, a period of romanticism in Modern Hindi poetry ranging from 1914-1938.  With passage of time, her limited but outstanding prose has been recognised as unique in Hindi Literature.  She was a prominent poet in Hindi Kavi sammelans (Gatherings of poets).
She was the Principal, and then the Vice Chancellor of Prayag Mahila Vidyapeeth, a woman’s residential college in Allahabad.  She was awarded India’s highest literary award, for lifetime achievement, the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 1979, followed by the Jnanpith Award in 1982.  She was the recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award, in 1988.
Mahadevi was born in Farrukhabad, United Provinces in a family of lawyers.  She was educated at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.  She was the eldest child of Govinda Prasad and Hemrani and had two brothers and a sister, Shyama.  She was married in 1914 with Dr. Swarup Narain Varma in Indore at a tender age of 7.  She stayed with her parents while her husband studied in Lucknow to complete his education, during which time, she received her higher education at the Allahabad University and passed her B.A examination in 1929 and completed her M.A in Sanskrit in 1933.  She later joined her husband in the princely state of Tamkoi around 1920 and later moved to Allahabad to pursue her interest in poetry with agreement from her husband, as she refused to accept her marriage with him in childhood.  Mahadevi Varma and her husband mostly lived separately pursuing their respective interests and used to meet occasionally.
After the death of her husband in 1966, she moved permanently to Allahabad and lived there until her death.  Mahadevi Varma was deeply affected by Buddhism and also contributed to the Indian freedom movement.  She even tried to become a Buddhist bhikshuni.
Mahadevi was appointed as the first headmistress of Allahabad (Prayag) Mahila Vidyapeeth, which was started with a view to imparting cultural and literary education to girls through Hindi medium.  Later, she became the chancellor of the institute.
She died on 11^th September, 1987 at 9:27 pm.  Her bunglow still stands at Ashok Nagar colony in Allahabad.  It is under possession of descendants of her deceased secretary, Pt. Ganga Prasad Pandey.  One her birth centenary year (2007), they have recreated a room dedicated to her memory.  Mahadevi Verma (1907-87), was educated in Allahabad, where she founded the ‘Prayag Mahila Vidyapitha’, promoting education for girls.  An active freedom fighter, Mahadevi Verma is regarded as one of the four pillars of the great Romantic movement in modern Hindi poetry, Chayavada, the remaining three being Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’, Jaishankar Prasad and Sumitranandan Pant.  She is renowned for her book of memoirs, Atit Ke Chalchitra (The Moving Frames of the Past) and Smriti Ki Rekhayen (The Lines of Memory).  Her poetic canvas boasts Dipshikha (The Flame of an Earthen Lamp, 1942), a book comprising fifty one lyrics, all which carry maturity of expression and intense mystical quality.  Some of her other famous publications are Nihar (1930), Rashmi (1932), Neerja (1934), and Sandhya Geet (1936).  Of her four prose woks, Shrinkhala ki Kadiyan deals with the plight of Indian women.  Her reflections on art and literature included in Sahityakaar ki Astha, evince a highly cultivated aesthetic sensibility, firmly rooted in the permanent values of life.
In 1935, she was appointed Honorary Editor of the famous Hindi monthly magazine Chand.  She was honoured with the Padma Bhushan by the President of India.  She died on 11^th September, 1987.
Works: Mahadevi is considered to be one of the four major poets of the Chhayavaadi school of the Hindi literature, others being Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’, Jaishankar Prasad and Sumitranandan Pant.  She was also a noted painter.  She drew a number of illustrations for her poetic works like Deepshikha and Yama.
Poetry: Her poems have been published under a number of other titles as well, but they contain the poems from these collections only.  They include: 1. Neehar (1930), 2. Agnirekah (1990, published after her death), 3. Pagal hai kya? (1971, published in 2005).
Awards and honours: Mahadevi Varma’s creative talents and sharp intellect soon earned her a prominent place in the Hindi Literary world.  She is considered among the four pillars of the Chhayavaad movement.  In 1934, she received Sekseriya Puraskar from the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan for her work, Niraja.  Her poetry collection received the Jnanapith Award, one of the highest Indian literary awards.
She also Honored with “Proud Past Alumni” in the list of 42 members, from “Allahabad University Alumni Association”,

Vijayalaksmi Pandit Indian Politician

Vijayalaksmi Pandit Indian Politician

Date of birth: 18^th August, 1900 and Date of death: 1^st December, 1990
She was an Indian diplomat and politician.  She was the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru.  In 1921, she married Ranjit Sitaram Pandit.  She was the first women to hold a cabinet post.  In 1937, she was elected to the provisional legislature of the United Provinces and designated minister of local self- government and public health.  She held the latter post until 1939 and again from 1946 to 1947.  Following India’s Independence from British in 1947, she became India’s Ambassador to the Soviet Union.  She then became India’s ambassador to the United Nations.  She was the President of United Nations General Assembly during the year 1953, becoming the first women to hold that position.  She served as Governor of Maharastra from 1962 until 1964.  Pandit was a harsh critic of her niece, Indira Gandhi, after Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1966.  Her daughter Nayantara Sahgal is a well- known novelist.

Jhansi Lakshmi Bai Indian Freedom Fighter Queens of India

Jhansi Lakshmi Bai Indian Freedom Fighter Queens of India

Date of Birth: 19^th November, 1835 and Date of Death: 17^th June, 1858
Lakshmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi (Marathi), a well known as Jhansi Ki Rani, or the queen of Jhansi, was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and a symbol of resistance to British rule in India.  She was the queen of the Maratha-ruled princely state of Jhansi, situated in the northern part of India.
Originally named Manikarnika and nicknamed Manu, she was born on 19^th November, 1835, at Kashi (Varanas) to Maharashtrian Karhade Brahmin family, the daughter of Moropant Tambe and Bhagirathibai Tambe.  She lost her mother at the age of four.  Her father, Moropant Tambe, worked at the court of Peshwa at Bithur, who brought her up like his own daughter, and called her “Chhabili” for her light-heartedness.  She was educated at home.
Because of her father’s influence at court, Rani Lakshmi Bai had more independence than most women, who were normally restricted to the zenana.  She studied self defence, horsemanship, archery, and even formed her own army out of her female friends at court.  Tatya Tope who was considered as a nightmare by the British during the ‘Great Revolt of 1857’ was Lakshmi Bai’s tutor.  She was married to Raja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, the Maharaja of Jhansi in 1842, and became the queen of Jhansi.  After their marriage, she was given the name Lakshmi Bai.  The Raja was very affectionate to her.  She gave birth to a son Damodar Rao in 1851.  However, the child died when he was about four months old.  After the death of their son, the Raja and Rani of Jhansi adopted Anand Rao.  Anand Rao was the son of Gangadhar Rao’s cousin.  He was later renamed as Damodar Rao.
Dalhousie then annexed Jhansi, saying that the throne had “lapsed” and claimed the right to put Jhansi under his protection.  In March, 1854, she was given a pension of 60,000 rupees and ordered to leave the palace and the Jhansi fort but it was denied by her.
On 10^th May, 1857 the Indian Rebellion started in Meerut.  This began after rumours that the new bullet casings for the Lee Enfield rifles were coated with pork and beef fat; British commanders insisted on their use and started to discipline anyone who disobeyed.  During this rebellion sepoys killed many British soldiers and officers of the East India Company.
Along with the young Anand Rao, the Rani decamped to Kalpi along with her forces where she joined other rebel forces, including those of Tatya Tope.  The Rani and Tatya moved on to Gwalior, where the combined rebel forces defeated the army of the Maharaja of Gwalior after his armies deserted the rebel forces.  They then occupied a strategic fort at Gwalior.  However, on the 17^th of June, 1858, while batting in full warrior regalia against the 8^th (King’s Royal Irish) Hussars in Kotah-ki Serai near the Phool Bagh area of Gwalior, she died.  The British captured Gwalior three days later.  In the British report of the battle, General Hugh Rose commented that the Rani, “remarkable for her beauty, cleverness and perseverance”, had been “the most dangerous of all the rebel leaders”.
Rani was memorialised in bronze statues at Jhansi and Gwalior, both of which portray her on horseback.  Another equestrian statue can be seen in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.

Kasturba Gandhi Wife of Mahathma Gandhi

KASTURBA GANDHI
Date of Birth: 11^th April, 1869 and Date of Death: 22^nd February, 1944
Kasturba Gandhi, affectionately called Ba, was the wife of Mohandas Gandhi, whom she married at the age of 13.  Born to wealthy businessman Gokuladas Makharji of Porbandar, Kasturba married Mohandas Gandhi in May, 1882.  At the time, she was illiterate, and so Gandhi taught her to read and write – a potentially radical move, given the position of women in India at that time.  When Gandhi left to study in London in 1888, she remained in India to raise new born son Harilal.  She had three more sons – Manilal (1892), Ramdas (1897), and Devdas (1900).  In 1906, Mohandas Gandhi decided to practice brahmacharya, and the couple became celibate.  Although she stood by her husband, she did not always easily accept his ideas.  Gandhi had to work hard to persuade her to see (and agree to) his side of the viewpoint.  Kasturba was deeply religious.  Like her husband, she renounced all caste distinctions and lived in ashrams.  Kasturba often joined her husband in political protests.  She traveled to South Africa in 1897 to be with her husband.  From 1904 to 1914, she was active in the Phoenix Settlement near Durban.  During the 1913, protest against working conditions for Indians in South Africa, Kasturba was arrested and sentenced to three months in a hard labour prison.  Later, in India, she sometimes took her husband’s place when he was under arrest.  In 1915, when Gandhi returned to India to support indigo planters, Kasturba accompanied him.  She taught hygiene, discipline, reading and writing to women and children.  Kasturba suffered from chronic bronchitis.  Stress from the Quit India Movement’s arrests and ashram life caused her to fall ill.  After contracting pneumonia, she died from a severe heart attack on 22^nd February, 1944.