India's Freedom Struggle: 8 Bengali Women Who Played a Noteworthy Role

Freedom Struggle 8 Bengali Women: Did you know that Sarojini Naidu was born in a Bengali family and so was Sucheta Kripalani?

When talking of Indian freedom fighters, it is usually men who come to our mind first, like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and Subhash Chandra Bose and so on. We remember only a few women activists like Annie Besant, Rani Laxmibai or Sarojini Naidu, though there were many of them who fought for the country's independence and played an equally important role as men. 

Here are eight powerful women freedom fighters who have Bengali roots and whose noteworthy role in the Indian freedom movement cannot be neglected. Freedom Struggle 8 Bengali Women

1. Bina Das (1911-1986)

Bina Das was a revolutionary and nationalist from West Bengal. A member of Chhatri Sangha (a semi-revolutionary organisation for women in Kolkata), she tried assassinating Stanley Jackson, the then Governor of Bengal. Sadly, she failed after firing five shots and was sentenced to imprisonment for nine years. She joined the Congress party in 1939 and also participated in the Quit India Movement. Later, she became a prominent member of the Bengal Provincial Legislative Assembly and West Bengal Legislative Assembly.

2. Kamla Das Gupta (1907-2000)

Kamla Das Gupta was the manager of a hostel for poor women. Her main job, however, was to store and courier bombs and materials for manufacturing bombs to revolutionaries. Though Das Gupta was arrested many times, she was released due to lack of evidence. In 1938, she transferred her alliance to The Indian National Congress from Jugantar Party.

She contributed to the vocational training of women at the Congress Mahila Shilpa Kendra and Dakshineshwar Nari Swalambi Sadan. Besides being a freedom fighter, Kamla Das Gupta was also an author. Two of her memoirs are Rakter Akshare and Swadhinata Sangrame Nari.

3. Labanya Prabha Ghosh (1897-2003)

Also known as Labanya Devi, Labanya Prabha Ghosh was an important figure in India's struggle for Independence. She fought for the justice of her countrymen throughout her life. Ghosh was the first woman to be elected as an MLA from Purulia. She represented Lok Sevak Sangha and was also a significant member of Shilpashram, an important centre of freedom struggle.

Labanya Devi led several protests in the Purulia district of West Bengal during the British rule and was identified as an important freedom fighter. She wrote and edited several articles in Mukti, a weekly periodical that her husband started. 

4. Kalpana Datta (1913-1995)

Kalpana Datta was an activist in the Indian Independence Movement and also a member of the armed Independence Movement led by Surya Sen. In May 1931, Datta joined Surya Sen's armed resistance group "Indian Republican Army, Chattagram branch". Sen assigned her and Pritilata Waddedar the task to attack the European Club in Chittagong. However, she was arrested a week before the attack while carrying out a survey of the place and went underground after her release.

5. Suhasini Ganguly (1909-1965)

Suhasini Ganguly was captivated in Hijli Detention Camp under the Bengal Criminal Law Amendment Act for six years (1932-1938). After her release, she participated in India's Communist Movement and was also associated with the women's front of the Communist Party of India. Ganguly did not participate in the Quit India Movement but assisted her colleagues from the Congress Party. She was detained again between 1942 and 1945 for giving shelter to an activist of the Quit India Movement, Hemanta Tarafdar.

6. Sarojini Naidu (born: Chattopadhyay) (1879-1949)

Sarojini Naidu is a famous Indian political activist and poet. She was also an advocate of women's emancipation, anti-imperialistic ideas and civil rights. Naidu was a prominent personality in India's struggle for freedom from British rule. She joined the Indian independence movement in 1905 in the wake of the partition of Bengal. The activist travelled to different parts of India and delivered speeches on the need for the emancipation of women, social welfare and nationalism. She made a massive contribution in establishing the Women's Indian Association (WIA) in 1917. Sarojini Chattopadhyay married Paidipati Govindarajulu Naidu at the age of 19.

7. Matangini Hazra (1870-1942)

Revolutionary Matangini Hazra participated in the Indian Independence Movement and was shot dead by the British Indian police in front of the Tamluk Police Station (of erstwhile Midnapore District). She was also affectionately called Gandhi Buri or 'Old Lady Gandhi'. Hazra took part in the Civil Disobedience Movement and got arrested for breaking the Salt Act. After being released, she protested against the abolition of the tax. Later, Matangini Hazra became an active member of the Indian National Congress and also spun her own Khadi.

8. Sucheta Kripalani (born: Mazumdar) (1908-1974)

Sucheta Kripalini was an Indian freedom fighter and politician. She served as the head of the Uttar Pradesh 1963 to 1967 and was India's first woman Chief Minister. Kripalani came to the forefront during the Quit India Movement and later worked with Mahatma Gandhi during the partition riots. She was among the few women elected to the Constituent Assembly and was also a part of the subcommittee that laid down the charter for the Indian Constitution. She was born in a Bengali Bhramho family and went on to marry J. B. Kripalani.

There are many other women who played a significant role in Indian Independence, do write to us if you have a story about any such woman.