The initiative, courage and leadership women displayed in the Indian political movements for Independence from colonial rule have given them extensive importance in the Indian society. During the uprising of 1857, women of the ruling class came together along with the men to fulfill their ambition for an independent India. Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar and the famous Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi had become iconic figures in the Indian political arena. They were at an equivalent status with the all-pervading Mother Goddess which India professes to worship. After the mortifying defeat of 1857, the British Government replaced the East India Company and British rule became a historical fact. The seed of National Movement for India`s independence started with the early 19th Century social reform and education programmes started by important social reformers such as Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar, Raja Rammohan Roy, Maharishi Karve and others, as well as the Brahmo Samaj and the Arya Samaj.

Indian women actively participated in the revolution and movement for social change during the national struggle for Independence. Thus their participation was not restricted to one type of activity such as the non-violent Satyagraha Movement. Women`s early contribution to the Indian national movement started in the late 19th Century with women`s participation in the Indian National Congress. In 1890, Swaran Kumari Ghoshal, a women novelist and Kadambari Ganguly (nee Das), the first woman graduate of the British Empire, went to attend the INC meeting as delegates. The National Movement for Independence took an imperative turn with the division of Bengal in 1905.

Women joined men to protest this division by boycotting foreign goods and buying only Swadeshi goods, i.e. goods produced in the territory of Bengal. Mrs. Nonibala Devi joined the new Jugantar Party which was dedicated to aggressive movement in the early 20th Century. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1915 and took up the demand for self-rule and later for Poorna Swaraj through non-violent methods. His call to join the Satyagraha Movement witnessed women getting involved in all his programmes. Some of the important women who played a very active role in the Swadeshi Movement were Dr. Sarojini Naidu, Smt. Urmila Devi, the widowed sister of the Congress leader C.R. Das, wife of C.R. Das, Biamma, the mother of Shokat Ali and Mohmad Ali, leader of All India Khilafat Committee, Durgabai Deshmukh, Smt. S. Ambujammal, Smt. Basanti Devi, and Krishnabai Ram of Madras.

Women of educated and liberal families, as well as those from the rural areas joined Gandhiji in his non-cooperation movement. Sarla Devi, Muthulaxmi Reddy, Susheela Nair, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Sucheta Kripalani and Aruna Asaf Ali are some the women who participated in the non-violent movement. Kasturba Gandhi, the illustrious wife of Mahatma Gandhi, and the women of the Nehru family, Kamla Nehru, wife of Jawaharlal Nehru and Swarup Rani, his mother also participated in the National Movement. Lado Rani Zutshi and her daughters Manmohini, Shyama and Janak led the movement in Lahore. Indian women who joined the national movement belonged to the higher strata of Indian society, but from all walks of life, all castes, religions and communities.

Vijayalakshmi came from a prominent family. Her father Motilal Nehru was the president of Congress and brother Jawaharlal Nehru went on to become India`s Prime Minister. She was inspired by the persona of Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi and impressed by Sarojini Naidu. She entered the Non Co-operation Movement to fight against the British rule. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit represented India in many of the conferences abroad. She attended numerous public lectures and challenged the British dominated delegates` rights to represent India therein. At the age of sixteen she wanted to join Annie Besant`s Home Rule League but being too young, she was only allowed to enroll as a volunteer. She was a great fighter and took parts in many of the freedom movement. She was elected to Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 1936. The political career made her India`s first women cabinet minister in 1937. Aruna Asaf Ali was a dedicated sociologist. She was elected the first Mayor of Delhi. She devoted her entire life for the betterment of the country without any selfish means. Her contribution in liberating Goa had tremendous impact in achieving the freedom for Goans. She was a true patriot. The Bharat Ratna was honoured to Aruna Asaf Ali with a stamp issued by the Indian Postal Service in 1998.

Sarojini Naidu, the Nightingale of India, was a distinguished poet, renowned freedom fighter and one of the great orators of her time. Since childhood Sarojini Naidu was a scholar in her studies. She passed her metric exams at the age of twelve. She was also a great poet. She was elected as the president of Indian National Congress. A dramatic meeting with another respected leader Gopal Krishna Gokhle changed her life completely. Gopal Krishna saw in her fiery speech an excellent future orator and brilliant leader. The dynamic phase of Sarojinis career was from 1917-1919. She campaigned for the Khilafat Movement. Madam Cama fought for the freedom of the country till the last in her own way, and helped many revolutionaries with money and materials. Madame Bhikaji always believed that British had looted India, and practiced worst form of imperialism.

Sister Nivedita or Miss Margaret Noble was one of the hosts of foreign women who were attracted towards Swami Vivekananda and Hindu philosophy. She was impressed by the ideals of Womanhood in India. She propagated for the cause of India throughout America and Europe. Swami Vivekananda described her as a real Lioness. Rabindranath Tagore regarded her as Lok-Mata whose name is very familiar in Bengal. Her writings on Indian history and philosophy, on religious customs, festivals, her lectures on multi faceted subjects, her travel interactions with eminent persons have given a new depth, and added a new dimension, to the socio-cultural history of India.

The Indian National Army (INA), which was set up by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, was one of the most genuine and fearless movements undertaken by Indian men and women under the able and remarkable leadership of this great patriot. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose recruited about 1000 women for the Rani of Jhani Regiment from different South East Asian countries. Dr. Lakshmi Swaminathan, who was a medical doctor by profession, led this regiment. There were ranis as young as Janaki Davar who joined the INA at the age of seventeen. The women in the regiment were given the same training as that given to men. Even their uniform was similar to the men soldiers. The real impact of the INA may not have been in military terms, but it had a deep psychological impact on the women of India.

While there was significant number of women patriots who stood by Gandhiji and the Congress in the non-violent Movement, women of Bengal and from other parts of India also participated in a vital role in various armed revolutions. Women played a major role in the Lahore Students Union of Bhagat Singh and the Kakori case. Latika Ghosh set up the Mahila Rashtriya Sangha in 1928. Veena Das who shot at the Governor of Bengal, and Kamla Das Gupta and Kalyani Das were all active within the respective revolutionary groups. In April 1930, the Indian Republican Army, a revolutionary group led by Surya Sen, attacked the city armoury of Chittagong. Kalyani Das, Priti Lata Waddedar and other women were part of this revolutionary attack. Women courageously participated in violent and non-violent movements of Indian independence.

The women in freedom struggle of India excelled as speakers, marchers, campaigners and tireless volunteers. They actively participated in the processions and rallies conducted by the Indian political parties. They always fought for Hindu-Muslim unity. The contribution of women in freedom struggle of India is unforgettable.