India@75: 8 heroes of our struggle for freedom

Subhas Chandra Bose with Mahatma Gandhi at the 1938 Haripura Congress. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

India won its prized freedom from British colonisers in 1947 after a long and painful struggle. Ahead of Independence Day 2022, we remember the heroes who fought bravely to liberate the country.

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Tantiya Tope was one of the most notable leaders of Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny or the First War of Independence. Though unsuccessful, it was a defining moment in India's struggle for independence.

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The queen of Jhansi, who is synonymous with bravery, was also one of the leading figures of the rebellion. She is widely revered as a symbol of the resistance of Indians to British rule.

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Rai is remembered for leading the protest against the Simon Commission in Lahore in October 1928. After being attacked by the police at the protest, he had famously said, "The blows struck at me today will be the last nails in the coffin of British rule in India."

(Image credit: via Wikimedia Commons)

An enduring symbol of non-violent struggle, Mahatma Gandhi led movements like Quit India and Civil Disobedience. He inspired civil rights and liberation movements around the world. Among those deeply influenced by Gandhi was South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.

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A barrister by profession, he was one of the most prominent figures of the non-violent civil disobedience movement in Gujarat against the British Raj.

The firebrand revolutionary was hanged to death at the age of 23.  He had been part of high-profile attacks on British officers.

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Subhas Chandra Bose with Mahatma Gandhi at the 1938 Haripura Congress. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Admiringly known as Netaji (Respected Leader), he raised the first Indian National Army (INA) in 1943 to fight for India's independence.

(Image: Dipankar Bhattacharya/ Twitter)

Ashfaqullah Khan, along with Ram Prasad Bismil, founded the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association in an effort to attain freedom through an armed rebellion. They were both sentenced to death for the Kakori train robbery of 1925.