While the whole series covers the life and times of 75 such personalities who fought for Independence, the first part is dedicated to 20 women whose contributions remain largely unknown.
There are score of courageous women whose heroic deeds have not as yet found a long-deserved and befitting mention in the pages of India’s mainstream history, particularly with reference to their struggle for freedom from British rule as well as against the oppression by other colonial powers, such as the Portuguese, the French and the Dutch, a report in the Indian Express says.
But this myopic view of Indian history and the partial amnesia that prevailed among the masses about unsung heroes, has now been remedied by Amar Chitra Katha with the release of the first segment of a three-part series of 75 personalities that highlights their bravery and sacrifice for their country and for freedom.
The first part of the series that features 20 unsung women heroes, was released on Friday, January 28, by the Minister of State for Culture, Meenakshi Lekhi.
The release forms part of the ongoing Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations this year to highlight the invaluable contribution of these unsung heroes.
While the entire series will cover 75 such personalities, the first part is dedicated to 20 women whose contributions remain largely unknown, the minister said.
She added: “If we go through Indian history, we find that the Indian culture was the one which celebrated women and there was no place for gender discrimination. This is evident from the fact that women had the courage and physical strength to fight like soldiers on the battlefield”.
The women in the series include include Rani Abbakka, the first Tuluva Queen of Ullal in Karnataka, who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th century; Matangini Hazra, the Bengali revolutionary who was shot dead by the British Indian police in September 1942; Chakali Ilamma, whose act of defiance against the local zamindar became an inspiration for many during the rebellion in the Telangana region; and Parbati Giri, nicknamed the Mother Teresa of western Odisha.
The other Rani of Jhansi
But the most outstanding figure that stands out from among the lot is an incredible woman named Jhalkari Bai, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, and wasno less of a warrior and a woman of exceptional pluck and courage.
When British forces surrounded the Jhansi Fort, her masquerade as Rani Laxibai completely fooled the British for the next 24 hours, giving the Rani of Jhansi, enough time to evade capture, escape from the fort and regroup her forces elsewhere.
She was from a humble background. Born on November 22, 1830, Jhalkari, was the only child of Sadoba Singh and Jamuna Devi in Bhojla village near Jhansi. The family was poor and belonged to the Kori caste (an oppressed Dalit community).
Her father taught her sword-fighting and horse-riding. Her mother died in early childhood, so it was her father who brought her up as a single parent. But she could never go to school because it was something her father couldn’t afford.
The digital book, is available free of cost on the Amar Chitra Katha app
The second edition of the series, which is in process, will be on 25 tribal freedom fighters and the third and final edition will be on 30 unsung heroes drawn from other areas.
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