After successful celebration of 75 years of India’s Independence, we might have known the important days of struggle, important freedom fighters and the pain and sacrifice made by them. We would have learnt the great Indian freedom fighters like Father of our Nation Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subash Chandra Bose and many. The Women’s participation in Independence is quite little as we all know that Women in that period weren’t given any opportunity to take part in any of the struggles or any bravery actions.
Beyond these oppositions many of them held few protests like in Assam many women joined and led “Women Empowerment” movement, Queen Jhansi Rani who led the fight with son tied in her back, Capt. Laxmi Sehgal who led as commander of Indian army and many of them defeated their struggles. One such famous forgotten charming lady is Aruna Asaf Ali who is the heart of Quit India movement. She was born on July 16, 1909, in Kalka was the only daughter of Ambalika Devi, Upendranath Ganguly, a restaurant owner who had migrated from Barisal in modern Bangladesh to the United Provinces (presently known as Uttar Pradesh). Both her parents were followers of the Brahmo Samaj. Her parents and their ancestors were belonging to upper class Bengali Brahmo family.
This made Aruna upper class individual. She did her schooling in Lahore’s Sacred Heart Convent and completed her college education from All Saints’ College in Nainital. After completion of her graduation, she joined in a work as a teacher at Calcutta’s Gokhale Memorial School. She realised that being in upper class family or being in lower is not right way to divide people. This made her to stop being fairly liberal just like her family. In 1928, when she was 19-years-old she married a man called Asaf Ali who was senior to her and of age 23. She married him despite the oppositions of her parents who considered him to as a Muslim and of lower class individual.
In one of her numerous biographies, she might have written like, “My father was no more when Asaf and I married in September 1928. Asaf Ali was a prominent member of the Indian National Congress (INC), this brought Aruna in touch with the political leaders. She was now well familiar with great political leaders by the support of her husband. He was also the famous lawyer for Batukeshwar Dutt and Bhagat Singh in the Lahore Conspiracy Case. She soon stepped at the freedom struggle. After two years of her marriage life, she went to jail during the Salt Satyagraha. Her growing popularity for freedom struggle made the colonial authorities fear which made them to refuse to give bail to her and she remained in prison even after the Gandhi-Irwin Pact of 1931, when all political prisoners were released. But this again backfired the British rule in more vigorous way. Every other women in prison refused the release unless Aruna was freed.
This was followed by a massive public outburst and personal intervention by Gandhi for her release. This made her bail confirm. A year later, she was arrested again and was imprisoned at the Tihar Jail, where she protested the worst treatment given to political prisoners by launching a hunger strike. But this again made the British rule difficult and made her to be isolated in separate cell in prison (solitary confinement). This time also she was released as there was an improvement in protest. As the years passed she continued to contribute to the freedom struggle in countless ways. Soon her name was published in the pages of history. On August 8 in 1942, INC launched ‘Quit India’ movement at the Bombay session.
The British responded to the declaration by arresting all its major leaders, including Gandhi and Nehru. As a result there was no one left to organize the movement forward. She realised that without a leader the movement could end and they could lose the support of public. She immediately hosted the Tricolour Indian flag in Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay. Then with her INC workers she went underground. As the news of the flag hoisting spread like forest fire spontaneous protest and hartals arose across the city despite the absence of direct leadership. Overnight, her courage and slogan were there on everyone’s heart and lips. Thereafter she raised the flag which become a great moment of Quit India movement. The British government posted a reward for her capture but she was successful in escaping from the police.
During her time in hiding underground, she used underground radio, pamphlets and magazines to continue the struggle. She also came into close contact with socialism and its prominent leaders such as Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia and Edatata Narayanan. She continued to stay underground when Congress leaders came out of prison. She disobeyed even Gandhi’s request to stay from this protest as her health seemed worsening more. In an affectionate the Mahatma wrote: “I have been filled with admiration for your courage and heroism. You are reduced to a skeleton. Do come out and surrender yourself and win the prize offered for your arrest. Reserve the prize money for the Harijan cause.” Soon she turned to be a heroine according to her mission completion. After INC, she joined in Socialist party and then Communist party.
She next devoted herself in working for the empowerment of women. She later joined in government job as first elected Mayor of Delhi but soon resigned it as there were lot of overpowering government norms. In 1964, she was awarded the International Lenin Peace Prize. She was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1992 and the Bharat Ratna in 1997, she passed away peacefully on July 29, 1996. She had lived in a one-bedroomed apartment on the road bearing her husband’s name Asaf Ali Marg.
She lived her life as an active women who cannot sit still and watch out the cruelty that happened in India. Till she has lived, she devoted her life to work for struggles of public especially women. She might have been faded away in public’s mind but her sacrifices have inspired thousands in relentless way. She was called the ‘Grand Old lady of Indian Independence’.
Jai Hind! Jai Bharat!
