“The impact of the West on Indian civilization has brought about changes that are more fundamental in the case of women than men. To men, it brought a new conception of the world, of its material resources, ethical standards, and political possibilities, but to the women, it brought slowly but potently a new conception of themselves. If men reassessed themselves as citizens in a new India, women revalued themselves as human beings in a new social order.”
– O’Malley
Women draped in saris marching across the streets with banners in their hands, burning foreign cloth on the streets or picketing shops- this is what we imagine every time we are asked to think about the contributions of women to the Indian freedom struggle. This is the broader picture that has been taught since our childhood through the school textbooks. This isn’t incorrect but were the contributions of women to the freedom struggle simply limited to protests, rallies, boycotts and picketing shops?
The Indian national movement changed the notion that women are mere homemakers who are meant to stay inside their houses. Women emerged as epitome of resilience and symbol of courage. Women stepped out of their houses, protested, demonstrated, picked up arms and led the movement while safeguarding their dignity. In the initial phase i.e. during the revolt of 1857, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Rani Lakshmi Bai and Rani of Ramgarh emerged as the principal leaders of the revolt. Begum Hazrat Mahal not only defeated the British troops but also set up her son Birjis Qadr as the King of Avadh. She personally contributed in defending Lucknow against the invading British forces under Sir Colin Campbell. She appeared in the battlefield on February 25, 1858, mounted on an elephant. Rani Lakshmi Bai drove the British out of Jhansi and fought valiantly against the British forces led by Sir Hugh Rose. Her indomitable courage led Sir Hugh Rose to describe her as “the best and the bravest of the leaders.”
During the early 1900s, women hid weapons, sheltered fugitives and encouraged the men, their domestic roles providing cover for the subversive and revolutionary acts. Gandhian leadership played a vital role in increasing the participation of women in the national movement. Gandhi used emotional and religious sentiments to evoke nationalism among the women. During the non-cooperation movement in 1920, women decided to form their own political organizations. Gandhi’s call to action transcended the confines of respectability, extending its influence to women marginalized by the strictures of middle-class society. Gandhi returned to politics in 1928 and launched the Civil Disobedience movement that witnessed the qualitative and quantitative participation of women. On April 6, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and Avantikabai Gokhale were the first to step onto the beach, light fires and boil seawater.
The composition of female participants in revolutionary groups during this era leaned heavily toward students. The majority of them became members of secret societies after their involvement with women's organizations and Congress. Bina Das was a young college student who fired a pistol at Governor Jackson and she is one of the most famous revolutionary women. Firstly, Bina, her sister Kalyani, Surama Mitra and Kamala Das Gupta decided to form a student organization for the discussion of political matters. The Chattri Sangha (Association for Female Students) organized study classes, athletic centres, swimming clubs, cooperative stores, libraries and a youth hostel. Congress looked to the Chhatri Sangha since these girls were already accustomed to public life.
Santi and Suniti, two school girls from Comilla, shot Magistrate Stevens to death on December 14, 1931. They had presented him with a petition to allow a swimming competition and when he went to sign it, they both pulled revolvers from beneath their shawls and fired directly into his body. Stevens died on the spot and Santi and Suniti were taken to Comilla District jail where they signed a statement admitting their guilt. Santi and Suniti wanted to become the first women martyrs and were angry to hear they would not be hanged but would instead go to prison.
Next year, in February, Bina Das who was a member of a secret society attempted to shoot the Governor of Bengal at the Calcutta University Convocation ceremonies in response to the arrest of her colleagues. At her trial, she spoke of the depressing effect of the accounts of murder and indiscriminate beatings in Chittagong, Midnapur, and Hijli detention center. In September, Pritilata Waddedar, a school teacher in Chittagong led fifteen men in a raid on the Chittagong Club. The revolutionaries injured and killed people. During the escape, Pritilata swallowed poison and dies about 100 yards from the club.
During the last phase of the movement, from 1940-1947, many women leaders had emerged. Khurshed Bhen was a famous organizer of the Volunteer Army in 1930 who went to the Northwest Frontier Province in 1940 to spread the gospel of non-violence amongst the people there. Usha Mehta was one of the prominent workers of the Congress Radio Conspiracy Case. She broadcasted all the important news through the secret radio. She was sentenced to four years imprisonment.
At Dharwar, on October 23, 1942, two lady students Hemlata Shenolikar and Gulvadi entered the District Courts and hoisted the tricolor on the Judge’s seat. Gulvadi addressed the members of the bar present in the court and summoned the Judge and asked him to resign his seat and dissolve his court within eight days otherwise he would be tried as a traitor. The police arrived and Gulvadi escaped. However, Shenolikar was sentenced to pay a fine of fifty rupees or to suffer imprisonment for one month. She refused to pay the fine and preferred going to jail.
Women also constituted a portion of the Indian National Army. Dr. Lakshmi Sehgal, as the Commander of the Ranee Jhansi Regiment was designated Lt. Colonel. When the Indian National Army collapsed, she did not surrender to the British and was arrested and sent to Rangoon jail with other girls. We often confine the women leadership during the freedom struggle to Annie Besant, Sarojini Naidu, Kasturba Gandhi, Aruna Asaf Ali, women associated with Gandhi, women of the Das family and Nehru family but there are more women whose contributions go unnoticed. Every woman who contributed in the Indian National Movement in any way deserves a tribute.
These were the women who stood by the actual principles of feminism. They fought for their rights and dedicated their lives to the cause of an independent nation. They established their identities and revalued themselves as human beings defying the orthodox societal norms and stereotypes. Male guidance prevailed but Indian freedom movement was not characterized by “patriarchal nationalism.”
While we pay tribute to the women for their contributions to the Indian freedom struggle we must not neglect their sacrifices and challenges. While women battled with the internal challenges of patriarchy and orthodox beliefs, they also faced brutalities conducted by the British. Their veils were torn, they were raped, they were lathi-charged and were imprisoned in jails that had unbearable conditions.
In conclusion, the Indian national movement brought the women under one umbrella, the homemakers, the widows, the college girls, the school girls, the royal women, the teachers, the businesswomen, and the prostitutes, all joined hands and worked together for an independent nation. Geraldine Forbes, in her book Women in Modern India, concluded with “Women would come out of the house was on fire. The expectation was that once the fire was out, women would go back inside the house.”
Sources:
Geraldine Forbes, Women in Modern India, Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Role of Women in the Freedom Movement (1857-1947), Sterling Publishers Private Ltd,
1960.
Suruchi Thapar, Women in the Indian National Movement: Unseen Faces and Unheard
Voices 1930-1942, SAGE Publications India Pvt. Ltd., 2006
P.N. Chopra, Women in the Indian Freedom Struggle, Ministry of Education and Social
Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, 1975.
The contributions of women to the Indian freedom struggle were beyond protests, rallies and picketing shops
While we pay tribute to the women for their contributions to the Indian freedom struggle we must not neglect their sacrifices and challenges. While women battled with the internal challenges of patriarchy and orthodox beliefs, they also faced brutalities conducted by the British. Their veils were torn, they were raped, they were lathi-charged and were imprisoned in jails that had unbearable conditions.
