Indian Freedom Fighters
History is familiar with the saint Mahatma Gandhi who nonviolently contributed immensely to achieving India's independence and is not only admired worldwide but was emulated in several independence movements and is still mirrored in democratic struggles. His movement, however, was purely a political and sociopolitical movement not giving importance to Hinduism. He was at times overgenerous for his own good and unnecessarily conceded to demands that only pampered divisive forces (Muslim separatists.) This created the appeasement problem that India still faces. This is also termed 'pseudo-secularism' wherein Hindu tolerance is abused to unfairly benefit institutions that are antithetical to democracy and equality.
Today, historical Hindu activist freedom fighters are purposely overshadowed to only perpetuate liberal parties' appeasement agendas.
Subhas Chandra Bose, who militarily championed the Indian independence movement, credited Veer Savarkar for advising him to escape his house arrent in India by emigrating and then forging alliances with Axis powers during World War II (WWII.) “Leave India, go to Germany or Japan, raise an army.” Bose later wrote: “Savarkar’s advice was the turning point.” In Jan 1941, Bose escaped from house arrest, and later formed the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) or INA, which received training from the Japanese Empire. Savarkar cleverly played both sides, supporting Indian freedom on the one hand and collaborating with the British imperialists in acts, such as raising a volunteer army to fight Axis powers in WWII. Bose once again praised Savarkar for having done so, because these returning soldiers or soldiers-in-training were in many instances convinced by Bose into defecting towards INA. He said, "When due to misguided political whims and lack of vision almost all the leaders of the Congress Party are decrying all the soldiers in the Indian Army as mercenaries, it is heartening to know that Veer Savarkar is fearlessly exhorting the youth of India to enlist in the Armed Forces. These men will learn modern warfare and return to India as trained soldiers to free their motherland."[1]
Indian National Congress' Hindu activist roots[edit]
The party was founded by ethnically Brit Allan Octavian Hume, born in England. He was a member of the Hindu-based Theosophical Society for a while, and even after leaving he remained a vegetarian and the group had inspired him to give up killing birds for their specimens. He was influenced by freedom fighter Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
Annie Besant, the Theosophical Society's prominent member, later joined the Congress as well, and became its president in 1917. She mobilized support through her platforms like New India and Commonweal. She co-founded the All-India Home Rule League with Lokmanya Tilak.
Freedom fighters defecting to Hindu groups[edit]
It wasn't only Bose who grew tired of Congress and quit to fight for freedom through other institutions. Many Congressmen defected to the political parties Hindu Mahasabha (HM) or Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS, predecessor to BJP), while others to the RSS, which wasn't a political party.
| Name | Post | Background | Shift | Other Significance | Birth Region | Ethnicity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashutosh Lahiri[1][2] | Bengal Congress MLA | Joined HM in 1948 amid post-Partition Hindu mobilization. | Resorted to violence against imperialists. | Bengal | Bengali | |
| Balraj Madhok | Active in Congress youth wings (1940s) | Joined RSS in 1942 (post-1947 consolidation) as a pracharak; later BJS founder. | Gilgit-Baltistan (Skardu) |
Punjabi | ||
| Balakrishna Shivram Moonje | Congress volunteer | Early Congress member; influenced by Tilak’s philosophy. | Pre-1947 HM leader who co-founded RSS (1925) with Hedgewar; post-1947, as RSS vice-president (1940–46), he mentored ex-Congress nationalists joining RSS shakhas. Post-1947 Relevance: Facilitated integration of Congress dissidents into RSS during its 1949 rehabilitation post-ban. |
Military leader | Chhattisgarh (Bilaspur), then Central Provinces |
Marathi |
| Deendayal Upadhyaya | Congress worker | Active in Congress-affiliated labor unions (1940s); influenced by Gandhi’s constructive program. | Joined RSS in 1942 (pre-1947), but post-1947, rose as RSS pracharak and BJS ideologue (general secretary 1952–67). His defection highlighted youth migration from Congress’ socialist wing. | Started monthly Rashtra Dharma publication. | U.P. (Mathura) then United Provinces |
Brajbhasha |
| Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna | UP Congress chief minister (1973–75) | Defected to BJP in 1987. | Uttarakhand (Bughani), then United Provinces |
Garhwali | ||
| Jagannathrao Joshi | Congress worker in Maharashtra | Defected to RSS in 1948, leading Goa liberation efforts. | Karnataka (Nargund) |
Kannadiga | ||
| Kewalram Ratanmal Malkani | Congress journalist and freedom fighter | Joined BJS in 1951, serving as its first general secretary. | Sindh (Hyderabad), then Bombay Presidency |
Sindhi | ||
| Lala Lajpat Rai ('Punjab Kesari') |
Congress leader | Key Congress figure; led Non-Cooperation in Punjab (1920–22) | In 1926, he resigned from the Congress-backed Swaraj Party and joined the Hindu Mahasabha, criticizing Congress’ “pro-Muslim” compromises (e.g., Lucknow Pact). While this occurred pre-1947, his faction influenced post-1947 HM continuity. Post-1947 Relevance: His legacy drew Congress dissidents to HM in the 1950s, though Rai himself predeceased independence. |
A British publication, the Punjab Disturbances Report (AKA Punjab Unrest Report or Aitken Report) printed: “The head and centre of the entire movement is Lala Lajpat Rai, a Khatri pleader— he is a revolutionary and a political enthusiast who is inspired by the most intense hatred of the British government.” He was martyred in a lathi charge by police in 1928 from lathi blows during Simon Commission protests. |
Punjab (Dhudike) |
Punjabi |
| Madan Mohan Malaviya ('Mahamana', 'Pandit') |
4-time Congress president | Moderate Congress leader; opposed Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation but supported Swaraj. | Dual affiliation pre-1947 (Congress and HM co-founder, 1915), but post-1947, his followers (e.g., in U.P. politics) bolstered HM against Congress’ “secular drift.” Malaviya died in 1946, but his network facilitated defections.
|
Saved lives in 1924 of 170 Non-Cooperation Movement participants sentenced to death for the Chauri Chaura Incident by securing acquittals for 155 and life sentences for the rest even though he had retired from law in 1911[3] Gandhi conferred him title 'Mahamana' Founded: 1) Banaras Hindu University 2) Bharat Scouts and Guides 3) Hindustan Dainik 4) The Leader |
U.P. (Prayag), then United Provinces |
Hindi |
| Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar ('Tatyasaheb') | Congress leader and Tilak’s associate | Defected in the 1920s (formalized post-1947) over Congress’s “soft” stance on communal issues; became HM general secretary. | Maharashtra (Miraj) |
Marathi | ||
| Dr. Sampurnanand | Congress leader | Briefly aligned with HM in 1947–1949 before shifting to BJS. | Achieved doctorate | U.P. (Varanasi) |
Hindi | |
| Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee | Congress minister, later HM president | Elected to Bengal Legislative Council under Congress (1937); served as India’s first Industry Minister (1947) under Nehru. | Resigned from Congress/HM in 1949 over ideological differences (opposed Article 370, Partition acceptance); founded BJS in 1951 with RSS support. RSS provided organizational backbone (e.g., volunteers for campaigns.)
|
He died in 1953 during Kashmir agitation. | Bengal (Kolkata) then Bengal Presidency |
Bengali |
- ↑ Azad Hind Radio broadcast, June 25, 1944