Freedom fighters of rural India
The struggle for India’s freedom was tenaciously fought in many villages and small towns across British India. These foot-soldiers of India’s freedom, led significant uprisings and movements, with great courage and personal sacrifice.
This 75th Independence Day, read beyond our textbooks and get to the heart of everyday Indians who led extraordinary lives and gave us our freedom.
This illustration by Mayank Dabhi is based on Hausabai Patil (and her father, Nana Patil standing next to her) – who was with the revolutionary underground that carried out audacious attacks on British offices, and looted armouries, buses and police stations in the Satara region in Maharashtra from 1943-46, as part of the Toofan Sena (typhoon or whirlwind army).
Look up the PARI Education’s Learning Resources section – Freedom fighters of rural India.
Editor's note
Mayank Dabhi is doing a post-graduate degree in advertising, design and digital communication at the Ecole Intuit Lab in Mumbai. He created this poster to draw attention to the stories of the foot-soldiers of India’s freedom, in time for the day marking the 75th year of India’s independence from British rule.
He says: “I wanted to pay tribute to our freedom fighters who lived in the shadows. They played such an important role in our freedom and independence, but we students never learnt about their importance. They were the pillars of our freedom struggle and some are still alive. PARI is connecting us with the real stories of real people.”