The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of many methods. This is a list of individuals who notably campaigned against or are considered to have campaigned against colonial rule on the Indian subcontinent.

Post-independence, the term "freedom fighter" was officially recognized by the Indian government for those who took part in the movement; people in this category (which can also include dependent family members) receive pensions and other benefits such as Special Railway Counters.

List

A + Name ActivityAmbika Chakrabarty A revolutionary, he took part in the Chittagong armoury raid.Alluri Sitarama RajuHe led the Rampa Rebellion of 1922.Amarendranath Chatterjee A revolutionary, he raised funds and took part in the Indo-German Conspiracy.Anant Laxman KanhereA revolutionary assassin, he was executed by the colonial government for the murder of a British officer A. M. T. Jackson.Anant Maral ShastriHe participated in the Quit India Movement and used his writings to inspire nationalistic sentiments. As a journalist, he worked with several newspapers to spread awareness against British rule.Ananta SinghA revolutionary, he participated in the Chittagong armoury raid.Anjana Devi ChaudhryShe was the first woman from Rajasthan to be arrested during the freedom struggle. She was also involved in the Bijolia movement and led a procession of 500 women in BijoliaAnugrah Narayan SinhaA prominent revolutionary from Bihar known as Bihar Vibhuti. He was a Gandhian and participated in Champaran Satyagraha in 1917. Atulkrishna GhoshA revolutionary, he took part in the Indo-German Conspiracy.Swatantryaveer Nanasaheb DhapteFreedom fighter Nivritti Nanasaheb Dhapate was born in 1908 into the Kshatriya Shegar Dhangar community in Korhale Budruk village, Baramati taluka. He played an active role in India's freedom struggle alongside other freedom fighters from Korhale village. After witnessing the nation achieve independence, he breathed his last in free India in 1977.

B +NameActivityBabu Bhoop SinghRuler of Kohra (estate) and leader in the Indian Rebellion of 1857.Badal GuptaA revolutionary, he died in an attack on police at Writers' Building.Bagha JatinA founding member of Anushilan Samiti, convicted in the Howrah-Sibpur conspiracy case and a participant in the Indo-German Conspiracy.Baldev Ram MirdhaHe mobilised farmers against British colonial and feudal policies through the Kisan Sabha.Baikuntha ShuklaA revolutionary, he was executed for murdering a government witness.Bal Gangadhar TilakA nationalist, he campaigned for Swaraj (self-rule).Begum Hazrat MahalAlso known as the Begum of Awadh, she was the second wife of Nawab of Awadh Wajid Ali Shah, and the regent of Awadh in 1857–1858. She is known for the leading role she had in the rebellion against the British East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.Bankim Chandra ChatterjeeA nationalist, he wrote Vande Mataram which inspired many activists and became the national song of India.Barindra Kumar GhoshA revolutionary organizer, he was convicted in the Alipore bomb case.Basawon SinghAn activist, he was convicted in the Lahore Conspiracy Case trial.Batukeshwar DuttAn Indian revolutionary participating in an armed struggle against British rule in India, he threw a bomb in the Central Assembly in 1929.Benoy BasuA revolutionary, he died following an attack on police at Writers' Building.Bhabini MahatoA freedom fighter and activist who participated in the Quit India Movement of 1942 and the Bengali Language Movement (Manbhum). Boyi Bhimanna A celebrated Telugu poet, scholar, and social reformer from Andhra Pradesh who actively participated in the Quit India Movement (1942). He used his nationalist literature to fight against British rule and dedicated his career to social justice and Dalit empowerment.Bhagat SinghA socialist, anarchist and Marxist revolutionary who worked with several revolutionary organisations and became prominent in the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).Bhagwati Charan VohraA revolutionary ideologue and bomb-maker, he wrote the article "The Philosophy of Bomb".Bhavabhushan MitraGhadar MutinyBhikaiji CamaBhikaiji Cama was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) in a large, affluent Parsi Zoroastrian family. While in London recovering from the plague, she met Dadabhai Naoroji, then president of the British Committee of the Indian National Congress, and for whom she came to work as private secretary. Together with Naoroji and Singh Rewabhai Rana, Cama supported the founding of Varma's Indian Home Rule Society in February 1905. She was denied re-entry to India after refusing to sign a statement pledging she would not participate in nationalist activities and, while in exile, Cama wrote, published (in the Netherlands and Switzerland) and distributed revolutionary literature for the movement, including Bande Mataram (founded in response to the Crown ban on the poem Vande Mataram) and later Madan's Talwar (in response to the execution of Madan Lal Dhingra).. These weeklies were smuggled into India through the French colony of Pondichéry. On 22 August 1907, Cama attended the second Socialist Congress at Stuttgart, Germany, where she described the devastating effects of a famine that had struck the Indian subcontinent. In her appeal for human rights, equality and for autonomy from Great Britain, she unfurled what she called the "Flag of Indian Independence"."This flag is of India's independence. Behold, it is born. It is already sanctified by the blood of martyred Indian youth. I call upon you, gentlemen, to rise and salute the flag of Indian independence. In the name of this flag, I appeal to lovers of freedom all over the world to cooperate with this flag in freeing one-fifth of the human race."Bhupendranath DattaA revolutionary, he was editor of newspaper Jugantar Patrika.Bhupendra Kumar DattaA revolutionary, editor of the publications of Anushilan Samiti.Bina DasA revolutionary, she attempted to assassinate Bengal Governor Stanley Jackson.Binod Bihari ChowdhuryA revolutionary, he took part in the Chittagong armoury raid.Bipin Chandra PalA staunch nationalist, he was a founding member of the swadeshi movement and campaigned for complete Swaraj Swadeshi movement. Pal is known as the Father of Revolutionary Thoughts in India and was one of the freedom fighters of India.Bipin Chandra Pal made a strong plea for repeal of the Arms Act which was discriminatory in nature. Along with Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak he belonged to the Lal-Bal-Pal trio that was associated with revolutionary activity. Sri Aurobindo Ghosh and Pal were recognised as the chief exponents of a new national movement revolving around the ideals of Purna Swaraj, Swadeshi, boycott and national education. His programme consisted of Swadeshi, boycott and national education. He preached and encouraged the use of Swadeshi and the boycott of foreign goods to eradicate poverty and unemployment. He wanted to remove social evils from the form and arouse the feelings of nationalism through national criticism.Birsa MundaA tribal leader and freedom fighter, he led the Munda uprising (Ulgulan) against the British rule and exploitative landlords in the late 19th century. He is remembered as a symbol of resistance and tribal rights in India.

C +NameActivityChandrashekhar Azad Indian revolutionary who reorganised the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) under its new name of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) after the death of its founder, Ram Prasad Bismil, and three other prominent party leaders, Roshan Singh, Rajendra Nath Lahiri and Ashfaqulla Khan.Chaudhary Charan SinghSingh followed Gandhi in non-violent struggle for independence from the British government and was imprisoned several times and later founded his own party Lok Dal.Chaudhary Mohar SinghHe was a rebel in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He along with Thana Bhawan Saiyed Pathans captured the Shamli tehsil from British rule for six months Chittaranjan DasHe founded the Swaraj Party and became the leader of the Non-cooperation Movement in Bengal.C. RajagopalachariA nationalist leader, lawyer and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, he participated in the Non-cooperation movement (1919-1922) and led the Vedaranyam March in 1930. He later became the last Governor-General of India and founder of the Swatantra PartyChowdary SatyanarayanaHe was an Indian freedom fighter, anti-colonial nationalist, politician, legislature in Andhra Pradesh Assembly (1955–62, 1967–72) and a human rights activist.

D +NameActivityDadabhai NaorojiKnown as the Grand Old Man of India, Dadabhai Naoroji was born in Navsari, Gujarat within a Parsi Zoroastrian family. He was an Indian political leader, merchant, scholar and writer who was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom House of Commons between 1892 and 1895 and the first Asian to be a British MP, other than the Anglo-Indian MP David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre, who was disenfranchised for corruption after nine months in office. Naoroji is renowned for his work in the Indian National Congress, of which he was one of the founding members and thrice — in 1886, 1893, and 1906 — elected president. Dadabhai Naoroji is regarded as one of the most important Indians during the birth of the nascent independence movement. In his writings, he came to the conclusion that the exertion of foreign rule over India was not favourable for the nation, and that independence (or at the very least, responsible government) would be the better path for India. Damodaram Sanjivayya A prominent statesman, political leader, and freedom fighter from Andhra Pradesh who actively participated in the Indian independence movement during his student days. Known for his upright character, he went on to become the first Dalit Chief Minister of an Indian state and served as a Union Cabinet Minister.Dhan Singh GurjarHe was the police chief of Meerut, who participated in the 1857 rebellion and led initial actions against the British East India Company in Meerut.Dheeran ChinnamalaiAn indigenous governor, he took part in guerrilla warfare against the British East India Company.Dinesh GuptaA revolutionary, he was executed following an attack on police at Writers' Building.Durgawati DeviA revolutionary, she helped operate a bomb factory.

G +NameActivityGanesh Damodar SavarkarFounder of the Abhinav Bharat Society. He led an armed movement against the British colonial government in India, he was sentenced to transportation for life as a result. Was the brother of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.Ganesh GhoshA revolutionary, he participated in the Chittagong armoury raid.Gopal Krishna GokhaleA moderate nationalist and social reformer, he advocated constitutional reform, expanded education, and greater Indian representation in government. He founded the Servants of India Society and was an important mentor to Mahatma GandhiGopal Mukund HuddarAn anti-colonial activist and anti-fascist soldier, Huddar conducted an armed robbery in 1931 to fund clandestine revolutionary activities.Gopinath BordoloiHe met Jawaharlal Nehru in England in 1925. He joined the Indian National Congress and actively participated in the Indian Freedom Movement. In 1942 he was arrested during the Quit India Movement and sentenced to 3+1⁄2 years imprisonment. He was the first Chief Minister of undivided Assam. He died in 1950.

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