A Poet By Heart And A Soldier By Mind
British ruled India for almost 200 years. It started with the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and ended with India getting its independence on 15 August 1947. Since then this day has been a day, to remember the long struggle, the blood, the sweat, and the tears of innumerable freedom fighters, who gave up their life for this sacred cause.
India’s freedom movement against the British witnessed splendid and overwhelming participation of individuals throughout the country. From Indira Point to Indira Col., Kibithu to Ghuar Mota, thousands of women and men fought together against the British Empire. Innumerable people selflessly gave their lives to defend and protect the dignity of their motherland, and many got injured and embraced imprisonment.
One important question that naturally comes to mind is that “How are the leaders united in such a vast and diversified country? And then the answer comes naturally “Writers”. Poets and Authors have always played an important role in shaping history as well as the future of any country. Or rather it would be fair for me to say that literature has played a huge role in pretty much every major revolution in history.
India is no exception. And as we celebrate our 75th Independence, it becomes our ethical and moral duty to behoove and to remember the role of patriots who were writers in our freedom struggle. Purposeful and patriotic pieces of literature were penned to support the cause of the freedom struggle, to ignite the fire of freedom of motherland, and to remove the existing social evils. Let us know about a few brave freedom writers and their literary works which worked as a source of enthusiasm and motivation to unite people to free our motherland.
Jungantar Patrika, a newspaper founded by Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Abhinash Bhattacharya, and Bhupendranath Dutt, Bande Mataram, founded by Bipin Chandra Pal, and Harijan founded by Gandhi successfully made Indian citizens not only socially and politically aware but also united them for the common cause of freedom. Many scholars and intellectuals of the time considered it important to use fiction and poetry for a patriotic purpose and to create a nationalist discourse.
Premchand, Maithili Sharan Gupt, Ram Dhari Singh Dinkar, Makhan Lal Chaturvedi, Balkrishna Sharma Navin – all of them were writers and also freedom fighters who went to jail so many times during freedom struggle against the British.”
“Anandmath” written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee is among those earliest pieces of literature that fuelled the fire of imagination of the nationalists and became a sacred treatise of freedom struggle. “Vandematram” a song from the book became a popular marching song for political activism and the Indian freedom movement and later national song of our country.
Poets like Rabindranath Tagore, Josh Malihabadi, Muhammad Iqbal, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Mohammad Ali Jouhar, and Kazi Nazrul Islam used literature, poetry, and speech as a tool to spread awareness against the atrocities by British on Indians and to incite the thought of freedom to encourage people to fight for the country.
Iqbal, who created one of the most enduring patriotic poems of the Urdu language, 'Saare Jahan Se Accha', alternatively known as 'Tarana-e-Hind', quickly became an anthem of opposition to the British rule in India. And the list goes on… We are so privileged to be born in an independent India with lots of aspirations, dreams, and opportunities. We owe our freedom to all those fighters who fought bravely so that future generations can breathe in an independent era. So let's pay our deepest gratitude to all of them by fulfilling their dreams of making India a country where Tagore’s long-cherished dreams are fulfilled…- “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free….”- Guru Rabindra Nath Tagore.
