Rani Lakshmi Bai was the queen of the princely state of Jhansi. She was one of the leading personalities of the first war of India’s independence that started in 1857. She was born to a Maharashtrian family at Kashi in 1828 and was called Manikarnika during her childhood. In 1842, she married the Maharaja of Jhansi, Raja Gangadhar Rao Niwalkar.
Subhash Chandra Bose, affectionately called Netaji, was one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian freedom struggle. He was born on January 23, 1897, in Cuttack, Orissa, and was the ninth child among fourteen siblings. Bose was a brilliant student from childhood and founded the Indian National Congress.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, considered the Father of Indian National Movement, was born on July 23, 1856, in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. He was a Chitpavan Brahmin by caste and a social reformer, freedom fighter, national leader, and scholar of Indian history, Sanskrit, Hinduism, mathematics, and astronomy. He was among India’s first generation of youth to receive a modern college education.
Bhagat Singh was one of the most prominent faces of the Indian freedom struggle. He studied the European revolutionary movement and was greatly attracted to socialism. Singh gave a new direction to the revolutionary movement in India. Their immediate goal was the destruction of the British Empire, and they had no inclination to work out a political alternative. Because of his interest in studying and his keen sense of history, Bhagat Singh gave the revolutionary movement a goal beyond the elimination of the British.
Lala Lajpat Rai was one of the foremost leaders who fought against British rule in India. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari (Lion of the Punjab) and was born on January 28, 1865, in the village of Dhudike in Punjab. While in college, he came in contact with patriots and future freedom fighters like Lala Hans Raj and Pandit Guru Dutt. The three became fast friends and joined the Arya Samaj founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati. Lajpat Rai was elected to the Hisar municipality as a member and later as secretary.
Gopal Krishna Gokhale was one of the pioneers of the Indian national movement and the political guru of Mahatma Gandhi. He was born on May 9, 1866, in Kothapur, Maharashtra. Gokhale received his early education at the Rajaram High School in Kothapur with the help of financial assistance from his elder brother. Later on, he moved to Bombay and graduated from Elphinstone College, Bombay, in 1884 at the age of 18.
Bipin Chandra Pal was a member of the Lal Bal Pal team and doled out a number of extremist measures. He was born in the year 1858 and was a teacher, journalist, orator, writer, and librarian. Pal recognized the positive outcome of the British kingdom, but at the same time, he upheld India’s federal idea.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the first President of independent India and one of the foremost disciples of Gandhiji. He played a crucial role in the Indian freedom struggle and was born on December 3, 1884, in Ziradei village in Siwan district of Bihar. Rajendra Prasad was the youngest among his siblings.
Rajendra Prasad was greatly attached to his mother and elder brother Mahendra. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of independent India and one of the main architects of the Non-Aligned Movement. He was born on November 14, 1889. Nehru, also known as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was one of the foremost leaders of the Indian freedom struggle. He was very fond of children and they affectionately called him Chacha Nehru. He and his daughter exchanged letters while in jail, which were compiled into a book titled Pita Ke Patra Putri Ke Naam”.
