The role played by women in the Indian independence movement is an important topic of modern historical

research. Their contributions to the freedom struggle prior to the 1970s were seldom recognized in terms of their
roles, opinions, motivations, specificity, and scope. 1 This essay emphasizes this as well as the various ways in
which women contributed to India's independent history and its priceless historical legacy. Following Plassey
(1757), John Company gradually extended its political dominance over the subcontinent; however, this endeavor
was marred by a number of uprisings, including agrarian and military mutinies, which started in Buxur (1864).
However, John Company typically won, pensioning the Mugal monarch and later the Peshwa (Bithoor, 1818);
the powerful Nawabs Haider Ali, Tipu Sultan of Mysore (1799) were vanquished, and the Awadh nawabi were
reduced to vassalage; however, Col Malcolm was vanquished in guerrilla warfare by Bimabai Holkar, and
Queen Chenamma, displaying her feminine prowess, successfully defended her small kingdom of Kittoor (in
Karnataka) from being annexed. The 1857 Uprising was distinct in that a number of women spearheaded the
anti-imperialist movement, appearing in military and administrative dispatches and establishing themselves as
prominent combatants, commanders, and decision-makers. Strong female voices surfaced, but Rankeian-based
imperialist, nationalist stories emphasized a select few: Begum Hazrat Mahal's heroic, fruitless attempts to take
Lucknow, Shahjehanpur; they turned down Queen Victoria's pardon offer, instead choosing to seek safety in
Nepal; this obscured the extraordinary contributions of not only the economically marginalized members of
society, but also the sacrifices and patriotism of Tai Bai (Jaluan), Baizabai, Rani Tejaswani, and Rani Chauhan
of Anupshahr. Following World War II, frameworks, techniques, and approaches for compiling comprehensive
histories using the "bottoms up" approach and a variety of conventional and unconventional sources developed,
allowing social scientists, including the Subaltern School, to raise public awareness of "Ghadar" and the
bravery, sacrifices, and patriotism of the subalterns, including women, such as UdaDevi, Jhalkaribai,
Mahaviridevi, and Panndhai—new nationalist Viranganas—reaffirmed through folklore, poems, songs, dramas,
and nautankis—a source of particular pride for the dalit samaj, which the Bahujan Samaj party invoked to
garner support.

Following 1857, there was a phase of "constructive imperialism" and pacification that promoted women's
education, a cause that Indian liberals, reformers, and reformist organizations had been supporting since the
1830s. Hence, the Atmiya Sabha, Bramho Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prartahana Samaj, Theosophical Society, Ram
Krishna Mission, and Indian National Congress (established in 1885) associated women's education, rights, and
dignity with national regeneration. They emphasized that the primary moral rationale for foreign dominance was
the inferior, oppressed status of women and their illiteracy, which left nearly half of the Indian population
incapable of thinking or acting independently, making India unfit for self-governance. They promoted women's
education, organization membership, and involvement in a range of nationalist initiatives, which helped
nationalism gain traction. Women were presented as important symbols of either enlightenment, nationalism, or
backwardness, emphasizing that even historically, women were never as passive, stupid, or subservient as
hegemonic imperial narratives projected.8 This perspective has been supported by more recent studies that
highlight women's power within the family, their struggles, critique, and resistance, as well as how they
fractured and negotiated male-dominated socio-economic, political, and power relations in various cultural,
political, and educational contexts.9 Widows, for example, turned to the legal system to enforce their right to
inherit, defend their dignity, and even to file for divorce from oppressive husbands or in-laws.10 During
famines, women petitioned the government for assistance, criticizing colonialism for undermining their proud
history.

This dynamic intensified as education spread, even though it was slow, fraught with opposition, and filled with
complicated circumstances. Despite this, women were able to pursue education, even though they were few in
number, particularly in urban university centers like Bombay, Poona, Calcutta, Madras, and Allahabad. These
groups of visible, small-scale female intelligentsia were exposed to science, technology, and modernization
processes that changed their perspectives on the world. Thus, education enabled Mukatabai, a Mang girl of
fourteen years old who attended Jotiba Phule's school in 1855, to draw attention to the injustices and cruelties
that the Mang Maharachya Dukha Viasaiyi, the dominant Brahmanical order, subjected lower caste women to.
Tararbai Shinde wrote the play "Stree-Purush tulna," which is a comparison between men and women.11 Phule's
wife Savitri also critiqued the patriarchal system in place and emphasized that the primary factor suppressed
women's potential and rights.12

Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu overcame all obstacles to become the first female graduates of the
British Empire (Calcutta University, 1883). Anandibai, Haimavati Sen, and Kadambini all became physicians.
To further her career goals, Anandibai, the reformer Pandita Ramabai, traveled to the United States and
England, respectively. Ramabai married outside of her culture, became a Christian, and then went back to India
to fight for women's rights and education, especially for widows. In order to accomplish these goals, she
established the Mahila Samaj and, with Justice Ranade's help, "The Aryan Women's Association." Ramabai
Ranade, a fellow Maharashtrian, established the Seva Sadans with comparable goals. Begum Rokeya Sakahawat
Hossain promoted the status of Muslim women in Bengal. Sarala Ghoshal founded a gymnasium in Calcutta in
1902; Sarala Devi Chaudurani's Bharat Stree Mahamnadal (1910), with branches throughout India, promoted
women's education; and Annsuiyabai Kale founded the Bhagini Mandal (1925), which organized the Provincial
Ladies Association Conference, thereby empowering women whose activism increased noticeably. The writer
Swarana Kumari Ghoshal founded the Sakhi Samiti (1886) to promote traditional handicrafts. Proud of
representative government in their own nation, educated women also questioned, criticized, and denounced the
British oppression of the Indian people.13

Women were employed as agricultural laborers by the early 1900s on tea and coffee plantations, in a variety of
mines, and in cotton and jute mills. Notwithstanding the insults and aspersions of perverse minds, Basanti Devi,
Cornelia Sorabji, Sarojini Naidu, Ladorani Zuthshi, Annie Besant, Muthulaksmi Reddy, Mitain Tata Lam,
Perrin Captain, Freda Bedi, Durgabai Joshi, and Mahadevi Verma became political activists, attorneys,
legislators, reformists, poets, writers, and engaged in revolutionary and trade union activities. Legendary among
Indian youth living overseas, Bhikaji Cama founded the "Free India Society" and the periodical "Vande
Matram," traveled far advocating for India's independence, and raised the flag at the worldwide Socialist
Conference in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1907. Additionally, Bhikaji subtly assisted Savarkar in publishing his
ground-breaking book "Indian War of Independence," which was almost the first to propose that 1857 was a
single national struggle for independence that was outlawed in Britain and India even before it was published.
However, Bhikaji managed to get the book covertly and clandestinely published in Holland before smuggling it
into India. Such brave, covert deeds, albeit hardly acknowledged beyond their immediate circle, suggested
collective resistance, struggles, exhibiting feminine strength, outlook, and their determination not to allow
femininity to stand in the way of their potential and ambitions. As a result, they redefined and solidified
feminine interests, permanently altering the question of women's rights. The most important pan-nationalist
platform was presented by the Indian National Congress when it was founded in 1885. This platform inspired
women to take the lead in various national projects and collaborate with one another on shared goals and ideals,
leading to a certain level of national integration. A strong feminine base was established for the Congress by the
District Congress Committees' ties to women's associations such as Rashtriya Stree Sangha, Rashtriya Stree
Sabha, Devdasis Sangha, Desh Seviaka's, and Bharat Stree Mahamnadal, whose members were required to be
members of the District Congress.15 An increasing number of women delegates and observers attended each
General Session of the Congress, including Swarna Kumari Ghoshal and Kadambari Ganguli in 1889. Due to
these advancements, women were able to interact outside of the home and beyond language, regional, and
religious boundaries. In addition to micro social networks and associations that frequently combined into larger,
umbrella organizations, such as the Women Indian Association (1917), National Council for Indian Women
(1925), and the All India Women's Conference (1927), they also exchanged ideas, examined issues specific to
women, and established women-only hospitals, schools, dispensaries, and shelter homes. In less than ten years,
these organizations established several subcommittees, including labor, industries, child marriage, and opium,
demonstrating feminine activism in a variety of causes.

Bengal was divided in 1905 with the intention of creating a rift between the Hindu- and Muslim-dominated east
and west of the country. This led to a major anti-partition campaign that gradually expanded to include more
socioeconomic and political issues. It was a forerunner of Gandhian traditions and agenda, emphasizing national
education, cottage industries, indigenous institutions, and passive opposition to oppressive laws. Thousands of
women in Bengal participated in hartals, protest marches, picketing foreign goods and liquor stores, threatening
to be arrested, singing patriotic songs, and lighting bonfires of foreign goods, all in support of nationalism.
These actions inspired women all over India. The women were led by Basanti, Urmila, and Suniti Devi, who
were the wife, sister, and niece of veteran lawyer and freedom fighter C.R. Das.

The start of World War I resulted in restrictions on civil freedoms and volatile politics in India. However, the
Irishwoman Mrs. Annie Besant radicalized Indian politics with her Home Rule movement, persistently
denounced India's enslavement, and fought for swarajya. Complete self-government was the Congress's stance
throughout her 1917 presidency. In addition, with the Maharaja of Banaras' assistance, she founded the Central
Hindu College and promoted women's causes, activism, and education. 16 Annie Besant and other devoted
women fought for Indian women to be granted the right to vote at the age of adulthood. During the 1918
Mumbai special Congress session, Sarojini Naidu emphasized that women were becoming more educated, more
civic-minded, more involved in politics, sitting on municipal councils and other local bodies, and that they
should be allowed to vote as a result. Citing like justifications, Sarla Devi Chaudurani also approved a resolution
calling for adult suffrage. 17 Women were enraged by its rejection. Over the years, a number of women have
organized protests, passed resolutions, written letters, petitions, and promoted the idea that women's
empowerment depends on their ability to vote. These individuals include Princess Sophie Duleep Singh, who is
the granddaughter of Raja Ranjit Singh, Lady Herabai Tata, Mitian Tata-Lam, a graduate of the London School
of Economics, Mrs. Radhabai Subbrayan, Mrs. Shah Nawaz, Mrs. Muthulaksmi Reddy, Sarla Ray, Dorothy
Jinarjadas, and Margaret Cousins.18 As a result, between 1921 and 1930, provincial legislatures granted women
the right to vote, subject to certain property and educational requirements. Additionally, the Government of
India Act (1935) "reserved" seats for women. About 4.25 million women had obtained and used their right to
vote by the time of the first provincial elections (1937). However, it was the enterprising Mohan Das Karam
Chandra Gandhi who recognized and skillfully harnessed women's capabilities to serve family, community, and
nationalist projects to bring about socio-political changes on a local and national level.20 Gandhian political
traditions did not require sophisticated weaponry, ammunition, military training, or complicated mechanisms;
instead, they stressed firm resistance to subjugation and brute force through non-violent, peaceful Satyagraha,
self-discipline, and the ability to transform individuals and systems through love, ahimsa, and sacrifice—
qualities that women embodied and made them ideal leaders in the freedom struggle. Gandhi drew inspiration
from a variety of sources, such as Hindu scriptures and mythological traditions, and revered women as Janani,
Shakti, and Lakshmi. He also cited powerful, noble figures, tempered by virtue, such as Sita, Durga, Draupadi,
Damyanti, and Savitiri, who rejected injustice in human relations and chose suffering and death over
compromising feminine cause and honor. 21 He used such feminine bravery and reverence to create a strong,
free India, which became ingrained in nationalist ideology. 22 India was seen as a "mother" that needed to be set
free, a concept most famously illustrated in Bankim Chandra Chatterji's "Anand Math" earlier. 23 In essence, a
dynamic role that went beyond domesticity gave women's rights, education, and empowerment a boost. Such
campaigning added a socially, gender-inclusive, and morally elevating dimension to the national movement
along with socially reformative agenda items including community cohesion, dalit upliftment, rights, and
opposing most sorts of discriminatory treatment. Gandhian tradition mobilized activity through various kinds of
nonviolent but powerful resistance expressed in three key Gandhian movements; here, women fought the
colonizers and emerged as agents of change. Gandhian tradition created tactical spaces even for the weakest,
poorest, illiterate women.

"Movement against Cooperation":

Indians expected significant political concessions from the Raj after World War I, but the Raj instead imposed
the harsh Rowlatt Acts, which violated fundamental rights and civil liberties; this was followed by martial law
in Punjab, the horrific Jallianawala Bagh massacre, crawling orders, and public floggings, which had a
cascading effect that left many women maimed, crippled, widowed, and without children. The unwelcome
Montague-Chelmsford Act exacerbated the damage. Gandhi asked for Swarajya and integrated these complaints
with Khilafat and Swadeshi. Gandhi reasoned that government would be difficult if Indians calmly refused to
cooperate with the colonizers on an individual and communal level.

Beginning in January 1921, the non-cooperation movement put satyagraha to the test on a nationwide scale. In
order to create a crisis, the Indians first withdrew from the reformed councils, boycotted courts, universities,
government-run hospitals, and dispensaries, resigned from their jobs in the government as retainers and coolies,
and refused to work for the colonists. Gandhi's wife Kasturba set a good example for women: she managed the
Gandhian household, was disciplined, calm, and resilient; she also frequently spun charkha and wore khadi,
exhibiting feminine independence both morally and monetarily. Through all of his trials, from South Africa to
Quit India, when she was arrested and died in prison, she remained Gandhji's strongest ally. Bengali women led
by Basanti, Urmil, Sunit Devi, and Hemparabha Mazumdar capitalized on their wealth of anti-partition
experience. Basanti, who held a lofty moral stature, was also the President of the Bengal Congress Committee
from 1921 to 22. These not only supported swarajya and swadeshi but also women's education and general
uplift, giving them access to and influence over the majority of women whom they socialized into non-
cooperation. Large numbers of students and Sikh women volunteers joined.24 The arrest of Basanti, Suniti, and
Urmila Devi sparked such widespread indignation across socioreligious and ideological divides that police,
fearing an increase in public unrest, released the women within hours, with the women starting their activities
almost immediately.

Lado Rani Zuthshi, Kumari Lajjawati (Dhuni Chand's Lahore housewife), Smt. The confrontation was led by
Parbati Devi (d/0 Lajapat Rai), Pushpa Gujral, and most importantly, Sarla Devi Chudurani. Inspired by their
leadership, five hundred women joined the Rawalpindi Congress Committee in May 1921, and from then on, the
group's membership grew steadily.26 In the United Provinces, women belonging to the Nehru dynasty also set
an example. At the vanguard were Swarup Rani, Pandit Motilal Nehru's wife, Kamala Nehru, Vijay Laxmi
Pandit, Krishna Nehru-Hutthee Singh, and Uma Nehru. They wore khadi, spun charkha, woven, spoke at and
organized gatherings, took part in protests and rallies, and turned Swarajya and Ananad Bhawan into havens of
patriotism where liberation fighters were welcomed and given logistical assistance. Through comparable
initiatives, Sarla Devi and Savitri Devi (Hazaribagh) in Bihar inspired hundreds of women to walk door to door
promoting awareness of Gandhian principles, Khadi, and the boycott of imported goods. 27 In other places,
Sarojini Naidu gave back her Kaiser-i-hind medal (1921). 28 Women were encouraged to support the national
cause by Durgavati Deshmukh, Muthulakshmi Reddy, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Sucheta Kriplani, S.
Ambujammal, Krishnabai Ram, Padmaja Naidu, and Kamaladevi Chattopadhya.

As fervent supporters of swadeshi, or Hindu-Muslim unity, Bi Amman, the mother of Khilaft leaders Maulana
Mohammad and Shaukat Ali, Mrs. Haji Yousuf Shobhani, and Mrs. Mazhar ul Haq spoke at women's gatherings
in the United Provinces, Patna, Bombay, and 29 Punjab, inspiring Muslim women to join mainstream
nationalism. Bi occasionally spoke at meetings without showing her face, making a daring social statement. At
the All India Women's Conference in Ahmadabad, which drew in excess of 6,000 women delegates, Bi
encouraged women to volunteer for the Congress, become economically independent through the spinning of
Khadi, abstain from buying foreign goods, raise money for Khilafat-non-cooperation, and suggested that women
were especially well-suited for picketing liquor stores. Thirty-one women generously donated four diamond
bangles, demonstrating their dedication to independence. Women battled throughout India, committed to the
ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, despite the fact that their opinions of him and his cause were frequently ambiguous
and varied, as were their goals and strategies. Though evident, women's involvement was limited to urban,
middle-class, educated groups; even Devdasis and prostitutes gave money to Gandhi Baba. Wherever there were
established women's organizations, societies, and institutions, gender advocacy was prevalent. However, even in
this instance, women were excluded from volunteer movements and gender equity remained a distant dream.32
Despite wearing Khadi, female satyagrahi's delivered ferocious speeches despite orders to the contrary, took part
in hartals, peaceful political protests, marches, rallies, picketed liquor stores and foreign goods stores, and
distributed anti-colonial literature.33 These actions were repeated throughout India and culminated in the
Satyagraha week (6–13 April, 1920). Women's involvement was frequently encouraged by males who valued
the dynamic, potential, and patriotism of women, but it was also frequently done in opposition of patriarchy.

Many women made indirect contributions by taking part in civic affairs, village reconstruction projects,
spreading the word about charkha and khadi as the best ways to achieve economic self-reliance, welcoming
freedom fighters into their homes, cooking, taking care of their errands, coordinating work among various
groups, participating in prabhat pheris, and singing patriotic songs. They also told their children stories about the
bravery, sacrifice, and heroism of Indians, instilling in them a sense of pride and a love for their motherland.
Many women, including my literate grandmother, started their letters with "Vande matram" instead of Namaste
or Pranam. Later, starting in the 1940s, women prefixed their letters with "Jai Hind," 34 illustrating the rise of
nationalism and the extent of gendered participation that has not yet been fully evaluated.

Women's non-cooperation fostered a sense of self-worth, made them aware of their vital role in the nationalist
movement, encouraged them to establish venues for independent activity, and helped many women's nationalist
organizations raise awareness of nationalism.

"Salt Nonviolence"

Following non-cooperation, the flame of anti-colonialist sentiment remained low and resurfaced during the Civil
Disobedience (1930–1932) movement, which also involved tax evasion. Women were specifically urged by
Congress to spin charkha, weave, wear, and sell Khadi, as well as to disobey local laws that oppress them and
not pay taxes.36

Gandhi's greatest innovation was the salt satyagraha. Being a necessary component that was frequently used in
cooking, salt was associated with femininity. Despite being a natural resource, it was taxed and monopolized in
production by the colonizers. Gandhiji chose to challenge this by producing salt on the Dandi sea coast. On
April 6, 1930, the march got underway from Sabaramati Ashram, but there were only seventy women who
volunteered. Sarojini Naidu fiercely objected to this inadequate representation, demanding that women
participate equally and actively. In addition to being a poet and activist, Sarojini was the first female governor of
Uttar Pradesh after independence, the first female president of the Congress (1925), and a participant in
roundtable discussions. Her presence with Gandhiji during the satyagraha served as a signal for thousands of
Indian women from all socioeconomic backgrounds to join. Thousands of women gathered to hear Gandhiji
distinguish civil disobedience for widespread feminine engagement at nearly every stop along the Dandi
march.37
Women joined the Satyagraha despite being intimidated by patriarchal hurdles and police abuses, including
widows as young as sixteen (known as Ambabi in Karnataka). Processions of two to three thousand women
would frequently march toward rivers, the sea, and other bodies of water while carrying pots, pans, and clay
pitchers in order to produce, sell, and purchase salt in marketplaces. They would break harsh local laws,
including those pertaining to forests, without fear, shocking the authorities.38 The spirit did not offend the
northeast. The thirteen-year-old Rani Gaidineliu led the Naga nationalists in their ceaseless battle to drive out
foreigners from Manipur. Following her incarceration in 1932, Rani Gaiineliu spent the next fifteen years in the
torturous colonial prison system. Signing the orders for the release of his "Naga princess," whose extraordinary
patriotism inspired generations, was nearly Nehru's first act after independence.

Vijay Laxmi Pandit served as the organizing force in the United Provinces, while Kamala Nehru was
instrumental in the no-tax movement. On December 26, 1930, Kamala spoke to 5,000 people at Bradbuza
village's Bazaar Kareem, disobeying prohibitions and urging them to support khadi, join the Congress, and
avoid paying taxes. Her sentence of six months simple imprisonment attracted a lot of attention.39 However, the
contributions of thousands of courageous women remain unrecognized, such as Saraswati Devi and 26 other
women, Sunder Devi and 36 more women, 40 who were all imprisoned for six months rigorous imprisonment
for taking part in rallies, protests, picketing foreign goods and liquor stores, prabahat pheris, singing patriotic
songs, and bhajans 41 in Allahabad. In defiance of prohibition orders, Mrs. Bannerji, daughter-in-law of Pranlal
Bannerji (Allahabad), took part in a procession and the celebration of Independence Day in Muhammad Ali
Park on 26/1/32. She was arrested and given a one-year sentence of rigorous imprisonment. Mohini Devi
received a similar sentence, while Hari Devi, Ganga Devi, received a six-month sentence. 42

There was a lot of excitement in Bombay when Kamala Devi Chattopadhya boldly entered the courtroom of a
shocked magistrate and asked him to buy a packet of "salt freedom." The founding member of the Rashtriya
Stree Sabha, Perrin Captain, courted arrest here.44 Sarojini Naidu, Mrs. Hari Ram (the daughter-in-law of Sir
Ganga Ram, Lahore), Smt. Gyan Devi, the wife of Jung Bahadur, Ms. Zuthshi, and Mrs. Tarachand were all
imprisoned for varying periods.45 Ms. Satyavati, who was elected to the Meerut Municipal Council in 1931 and
editor of the journal "Jwala Sakha," 46 devoted to feminine causes, was sentenced to two years of rigorous
imprisonment in 1932. From prison, she continued her anti-colonial writings. Women breaking the salt
monopoly symbolized how Indian nationhood and home life were connected to politics—currently popular
research topics in gender studies.

While police refrained from abusing women during the Swadeshi and non-cooperation protests, women were
nonetheless harmed during the Civil Disobedience movement. Women volunteers came forward to support their
unarmed male satyagrahis as police used force to break the Satyagraha, as so movingly shown in Attenborough's
Oscar-winning film "Gandhi." Women who had been arrested testified during their trial that they had been
beaten, dragged by their hair, spat upon, stripped even of their thalis, and in some cases, left in nighttime
jungles. Authorities portrayed them in a variety of ways, calling them "low castes," "not belonging to
respectable classes," "loose-characterized," and "kept women." These derogatory remarks infuriated nationalist
leaders like Lilavati Munshi, who refuted Britain's moral and civilizing assertions and garnered support for the
Indian cause by having their stories published in the international press.

"Indian Quit Movement"

In 1942, when Gandhi initiated the 'Quit India,' Bharat Chodo Aandolan, many women had prominent roles as
members of trade, labor, student, and peasant movements, as well as revolutionary groups. Uma Nehru was
elected as a member and chairman of the Allahabad municipality's education committee in 1926; Bibi Raghbir
Kaur was a member of the Punjab Legislative Council, and she was connected to Begum Shah Nawaz and Ms.
Lekhwati Jain. A prominent member of the All India Women's Conference (AIWC) and the Congress, Durgbai
Joshi was elected to the Central Provinces Assembly.49 Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur led the AIWC, while Sucheta
Kriplani led the women's division of the Congress.50

The movement was led by local activists, many of whom were women, who led protest marches, hartals,
demonstrations, hoisted the national flag, courted arrest, and distributed anti-colonial literature in 1942.
Subhadra Joshi, who was underground, published the cyclostyled newspaper "Hamara Sangram," and Aruna
Asaf Ali, editor of the monthly Congress journal "Inquilab," unfurled the national flag at Gowalia tank maidan
in Bombay. The colonizers moved quickly to arrest nearly all of the top national leaders. While imprisoned for
varied periods of time, some of them in solitary confinement, Kasturba Gandhi, Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur,
Rameshwari Nehru, Mrs. Satyavati, Lajjavati, and Prabhavati Devi were equally active. The country grieved
Kasturba's death in prison.52 Indira Nehru, who founded the Vanar Sena as a kid and joined the Congress in
1938, spent thirteen months in prison. Twenty Quit India was distinct in that it allowed women to participate in
the countryside, where groups and societies with female cadres had been established by student, peasant, and
left party movements. Hence, women from socially and economically marginalized backgrounds, such as Ram
Piyari and Maharaj Kumari in Fatehpur (UP), who were imprisoned for six months for addressing a gathering of
one hundred people in Graghipur bazaar and shouting anti-war slogans and declaring that it was "haram" to
support the government's war efforts, were mobilized by Kisan Sabhas (Awadh), the All India Students
Federation, and the Mahila Atma Raksha Samiti's in Bengal. 51

It is appropriate to mention here the role of fierce, patriotic women who rejected petition politics in favor of
using force to defeat the enemy. The majority of female revolutionaries were educated, and they typically met
other radicals in college whose audacity and vision encouraged them to join their groups. They were shunned by
their families and society for their audacious social declarations, which included getting married outside of their
faith and caste, learning how to make explosives, and handling weapons. Numerous others, like Nonibala Devi
(1888–1967–Jugantar party) and Mrs. Vohra (Durga Bhabhi), concealed weapons, gave revolutionaries cover by
posing as their wives, deceived authorities, and otherwise contributed to the advancement of the revolutionary
cause. Such covert actions needed a great deal of bravery, cunning, and diplomacy.

The radical Latika Ghosh established the Mahila Rashtriya Sangha in 1928; Veena Das made an attempt to kill
the Bengali governor; and Kamala Das Gupte and Kalyani Das aroused acclaim for their radicalism. Preetilata
and Kalapana Datta took part in the armoury attacks in Chittagong, where a large number of revolutionaries
were murdered and captured. After blowing the European club in Chittagong, Pritilata accepted martyrdom;
however, Kalpana Das managed to escape and spent years in prison and hiding. 55 She became a member of the
Indian Communist Party, worked to better the lot of the underprivileged, coordinated medical and other relief
efforts during the 1943 Bengal famine, and provided sanctuary to both Muslims and Hindus during the division.
International attention was drawn to India's dedication to freedom and humanitarianism, despite its
marginalization in South Asian history. Dr. Lakshmi Swaminathan's leadership of the women's exclusive Rani
Laxmibai regiment (INA) was a fitting homage to the bravery and patriotism of women.