41. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
- Full Name: Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel
- Born: 31 October 1875, Nadiad
- Died: 15 December 1950, Mumbai
- Spouse: Jhaverba Patel (m. 1893–1909)
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is one of the most common names among all freedom fighters in the country. He becomes an important leader of the Indian National Congress and also organizes the Quit India movement, which will eventually pave the way for India’s independence.
Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel was the first Commander in Chief of the Indian Armed Forces and from 15th August 1947, until December 15, 1950. He is the person who united the nation taking all the states to confidence.
42. Lal Bahadur Shastri
- Full Name: Lal Bahadur Shastri
- Born: 2 October 1904, Mughalsarai
- Died: 11 January 1966, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- Spouse: Lalita Shastri (m. 1928–1966)
After graduating from Sanskrit, Lal Bahadur Shastri joined the RSS, which marked the beginning of his political career. He played an important role in the movement for freedom with a notable contribution in 1921, the non-cooperation movement, March Dandi in 1930, and the Quit India Movement in 1942.
Lal Bahadur Shastri mysteriously died on the night of 11th January 1966, in Tashkent, the capital of Russia, after refusing to return the Pakistani lands won by Indian soldiers during the Indo-Pak war. Even today, Indians remember Lal Bahadur Shastri for his simplicity and patriotism.
43. Udham Singh
- Full Name: Udham Singh
- Born: 26 December 1899, Sunam
- Died: 31 July 1940, HMP Pentonville, London, United Kingdom
Shaheed Udham Singh was 20 years old at the time of the massacre. After the Jallianwala Bagh incident, he was involved in the freedom movement to obtain the independence of India from the British.
When Singh was released in 1931, he was under close surveillance due to his close contacts with Bhagat Singh’s Republicans, who were hanged because of the Lahore plot. However, Udham Singh has not forgotten his plan. He fired O’Dwyer twice after the meeting ended and his ascent to the platform. He was immediately arrested and did not attempt to flee or resist his arrest.
44. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- Full Name: Keshav Gangadhar Tilak
- Born: 23 July 1856, Chikhali
- Died: 1 August 1920, Mumbai
- Spouse: Satyabhamabai Tilak (m. 1871–1920)
Bal Gangadhar Tilak worked as a lawyer and then as a teacher. The social and political situation in India has affected him a lot. He launched 2 newspapers, the “Kesari” in Maharathi and the “Maratha” in English, in 1881.
Through these newspapers, he expressed his ideas and woke up the masses. Tilak opposed perverse social practices such as child marriage. He also launched the Ganesh Utsav celebration on the streets. These festivals were organized with the aim of uniting people and encouraging them to fight against the British regime.
45. Gopal Krishna Gokhale
- Full Name: Gopal Krishna Gokhale
- Born: 9 May 1866, Bombay Presidency
- Died: 19 February 1915, Mumbai
- Spouse: Savitribai (m. 1880–1887)
Gopal Krishna Gokhale was born in a poor Brahmin family they did not have much money to spend, even for their basic needs. Despite the financial conditions, Gopal’s father sent him to an English school and was one of the first groups of Indians to study at an English school.
In 1889, Gopal Krishna Gokhale became a member of the Indian National Congress and began to actively contribute to improving the living conditions of the Indians. In 1905, Gokhale founded a new Society in the name of “Servants of India Society”. In 1912, Gokhale joined Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa to improve the lives of indigenous minorities.
46. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
- Full Name: Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
- Born: 14 April 1891, Dr. Ambedkar Nagar
- Died: 6 December 1956, Delhi
- Spouse: Savita Ambedkar (m. 1948–1956), Ramabai Ambedkar (m. 1906–1935)
Most of its constitutional provisions were aimed at social revolution or tried to promote the revolution by creating important conditions for the realization of the social revolution. The provisions elaborated by Babasaheb Ambedkar provided for constitutional insurance and protection of the civil liberties of Indian citizens.
It has managed to establish a reservation system for public service jobs, colleges, and schools for members of disadvantaged tribes and classes, castes, and classes. Later, he became the spokesman for backward castes and classes in India. Ambedkar also joined Mahatma Gandhi in the Harijan movement, which opposes the social injustice faced by backward castes in India.
47. Sarojini Naidu
- Full Name: Sarojini Chattopadhyay
- Born: 13 February 1879, Hyderabad
- Died: 2 March 1949, Lucknow
- Spouse: Muthyala Govindarajulu Naidu (m. 1898–1949)
Sarojini Naidu also nicknamed “Nightingale of India made her way into Indian politics with the help and inspiration of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Gandhi, and Nehru, after the field of poetry.
In 1916, Mahatma Gandhi inspired her a lot and immediately decided to use her talent to fight for freedom because she had trouble seeing her mother, India, under the power of the British administration. She chose to stop the British control administration and worked continuously for the freedom of India.
48. Rabindranath Tagore
- Full Name: Rabindranath Thakur
- Born: 7 May 1861, Kolkata
- Died: 7 August 1941, Jorasanko Thakurbari, Kolkata
- Spouse: Mrinalini Devi (m. 1883–1902)
Rabindranath Tagore started writing poems at the age of 8 and continued his career as a poet and writer. 2 of his songs by Rabindrasangeet are more famous since they have been the national anthem of two countries like “Amar Shonary Bangla” (National Anthem of Bangladesh) and “Jana Gana Mana” (National Anthem of India).
His creative writings, whether poems or stories have not yet been questioned. Perhaps he was the first to close the gap between the west and the east thanks to his effective writings. He died in Calcutta on 7th August 1941, before seeing the independence of India.
49. Bahadur Shah Zafar
- Full Name: Bahadur Shah Zafar is also known as Bahadur Shah II
- Born: 24 October 1775, Old Delhi, Delhi
- Died: 7 November 1862, Yangon, Myanmar (Burma)
- Spouse: Zinat Mahal (m. 1840–1862)
Bahadur Shah Zafar was the last Mughal emperor of India born in 1775 in Delhi. He was the last ruler of the Mughal dynasty, who ruled India for some 300 years. He did not rule his empire with a strong hand due to the rise of the British.
He has also contributed to the literary field. His poetry was mainly about love and mysticism. He even wrote about the pain and grief that faced the British. Most of their Urdu ghazals were lost during the War of 1857. Some of them, who were saved, were compiled and named Kulliyat-I-Zafar.
50. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
- Full Name: Maulana Sayyid Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed Azad
- Born: 11 November 1888, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
- Died: 22 February 1958, Delhi
- Spouse: Zuleikha Begum (m. ?–1943)
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was a poet, writer, journalist, and Indian scholar who became an important political leader of the Indian independence movement. The freedom of his mind, naturally, led him to the great enterprise of the day, the struggle for independence. Azad started in the struggle for the freedom of the revolutionary Shyam Sunder Chakravarthy.
While the British policy of “dividing and conquering” was rooted in the social psyche of the country, Azad remained the most ardent opponent of the partition of India. He opposed the end, and this will be better remembered for that.
