Women took part in every phase of India's freedom struggle — as armed rebels in 1857, orators and organisers in the Congress and Muslim movements, underground radio operators, and soldiers in the Indian National Army. This guide profiles about twenty women freedom fighters of India, each with their dates, region and documented role, drawn from widely accepted historical records.
Why these histories are recovered separately
Standard timelines of the independence movement often foreground a handful of male leaders, and many women who organised, marched, published, spied and fought receive far less space. Historians differ on how to weigh individual contributions, and this article does not rank them. It simply gathers verified biographical details so that readers can place these figures within the wider chronology of the movement. For that broader sequence of events, see our freedom-struggle timeline, and for a companion overview of leaders across the spectrum, our page on the freedom fighters of India.
Quick-reference table
The table below summarises the figures profiled in this article. Dates and regions reflect commonly documented records; a few birth years are approximate and are marked where scholars disagree.
| Name | Dates | Region / base | Best known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi | c. 1828–1858 | Jhansi (Bundelkhand) | Leader in the 1857 uprising |
| Begum Hazrat Mahal | c. 1820–1879 | Awadh (Lucknow) | 1857 resistance in Awadh |
| Rani Gaidinliu | 1915–1993 | present-day Manipur/Nagaland | Naga political-religious movement |
| Sarojini Naidu | 1879–1949 | Hyderabad / national | Congress leader, poet, orator |
| Aruna Asaf Ali | 1909–1996 | national (Delhi) | Quit India movement, 1942 |
| Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay | 1903–1988 | national | Salt satyagraha, social reform, crafts |
| Usha Mehta | 1920–2000 | Bombay | Underground "Congress Radio", 1942 |
| Captain Lakshmi Sahgal | 1914–2012 | INA / Singapore | Rani of Jhansi Regiment, INA |
| Matangini Hazra | 1870–1942 | Bengal (Tamluk) | Quit India protests |
| Durgabai Deshmukh | 1909–1981 | Andhra / national | Non-cooperation, Constituent Assembly |
| Kasturba Gandhi | 1869–1944 | Gujarat / national | Satyagraha campaigns |
| Kamala Nehru | 1899–1936 | Allahabad | Civil disobedience organising |
| Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit | 1900–1990 | national | Civil disobedience, later diplomacy |
| Bhikaji Cama | 1861–1936 | Europe (exile) | Early flag, overseas advocacy |
| Annie Besant | 1847–1933 | Madras / national | Home Rule League |
| Kalpana Datta | 1913–1995 | Chittagong (Bengal) | Chittagong armoury raid group |
| Pritilata Waddedar | 1911–1932 | Chittagong (Bengal) | Revolutionary action, 1932 |
| Bina Das | 1911–1986 | Bengal | Revolutionary action, 1932 |
| Sucheta Kripalani | 1908–1974 | national | Quit India, later politics |
| Ambabai / grassroots youth | early 20th c. | Karnataka | Youth-led local satyagraha |
The 1857 uprising and early resistance
Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi (c. 1828–1858)
Lakshmibai, the ruler of the princely state of Jhansi in Bundelkhand, became one of the most prominent figures of the 1857 uprising against East India Company rule. After the annexation of Jhansi under the doctrine of lapse, she led resistance in the region and was killed in fighting near Gwalior in June 1858. Her exact birth year is recorded variously, and later folklore has added details that historians treat with caution; the core facts of her leadership and death are well documented.
Begum Hazrat Mahal (c. 1820–1879)
A consort in the court of Awadh, Begum Hazrat Mahal took a leading role in the 1857 resistance in Lucknow after the exile of the Nawab. She helped organise the defence of Awadh and, when the rebellion faltered, withdrew to Nepal, where she died in 1879. Her role is regularly cited as an example of women in positions of political authority during the uprising.
Revolutionary and armed movements in Bengal and the North-East
Pritilata Waddedar (1911–1932) and Kalpana Datta (1913–1995)
Both were associated with the revolutionary group in Chittagong (then in Bengal, now Bangladesh) linked to the 1930 armoury raid. Pritilata Waddedar took part in an armed action in 1932 and died during it. Kalpana Datta was arrested, tried and imprisoned, and lived to see independence. Historians present the Bengal revolutionaries and the constitutional Congress mainstream as parallel, sometimes competing, strands of the movement, without a settled consensus on their relative influence.
Bina Das (1911–1986)
A student in Bengal, Bina Das was involved in a revolutionary act in 1932 and was subsequently imprisoned. After release she remained active in nationalist and social work. Her writings later provided a first-person account of the period.
Rani Gaidinliu (1915–1993)
From the Zeliangrong community of the present-day Manipur–Nagaland region, Gaidinliu led a political and religious movement against colonial authority in the North-East from a young age. She was arrested and imprisoned for years and released after independence. Her legacy is remembered within a specific regional and cultural context that is often absent from all-India narratives.
Congress leadership, satyagraha and mass mobilisation
Sarojini Naidu (1879–1949)
A poet and orator from Hyderabad, Sarojini Naidu became one of the most visible women leaders of the Indian National Congress and served as its president. She took part in major campaigns of the 1920s and 1930s and, after independence, held public office. She is frequently cited among the leading figures of the constitutional wing of the movement.
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (1903–1988)
Kamaladevi was active in the salt satyagraha and in a range of social-reform and women's-rights initiatives. After independence she is widely credited with reviving Indian handicrafts, handlooms and theatre. Her career illustrates the overlap between the freedom movement and long-running social and cultural work.
Aruna Asaf Ali (1909–1996)
Aruna Asaf Ali is closely associated with the Quit India movement of 1942, when — with many senior leaders arrested — she is remembered for hoisting the flag at the Congress session in Bombay and then going underground to help coordinate activity. She remained active in public life for decades afterward.
Usha Mehta (1920–2000)
During the 1942 Quit India movement, Usha Mehta helped run an underground "Congress Radio" in Bombay that broadcast news and bulletins when much of the press was restricted. She was arrested and imprisoned. Her work is a notable example of communications-based resistance.
Matangini Hazra (1870–1942)
An elderly peasant woman from Tamluk in Bengal, Matangini Hazra took part in the 1942 protests and was killed while leading a procession. She is remembered as a figure who linked the mass movement to ordinary rural participants rather than to elite leadership.
Durgabai Deshmukh (1909–1981)
Durgabai Deshmukh joined the non-cooperation movement as a young woman in Andhra and later became a member of the Constituent Assembly that drafted independent India's constitution. Her career spans the freedom struggle, social work and post-independence institution-building.
Sucheta Kripalani (1908–1974)
Active in the Quit India period, Sucheta Kripalani worked in the Congress organisation and, after independence, held elected office. She is often noted as an early woman to lead a state government in independent India, illustrating the continuity between the movement and later public life.
The Indian National Army and overseas advocacy
Captain Lakshmi Sahgal (1914–2012)
A trained doctor, Lakshmi Sahgal led the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, a women's unit of the Indian National Army (INA) formed in South-East Asia during the Second World War. The INA remains a genuinely debated part of the independence story — assessments of its military impact, its wartime alliances and its long-term political significance differ among historians, and this article does not adjudicate among them. Sahgal's role as the regiment's commander is well documented, and she remained publicly active in India for the rest of her life.
Bhikaji Cama (1861–1936)
Working largely from exile in Europe, Bhikaji Cama campaigned internationally for Indian self-rule and is associated with the display of an early version of an Indian flag at an overseas conference in 1907. Her activity highlights the international dimension of the movement decades before independence.
Reformers, organisers and allied figures
- Kasturba Gandhi (1869–1944): took part in satyagraha campaigns in South Africa and India and was imprisoned during the 1942 movement; she died in detention.
- Kamala Nehru (1899–1936): organised women's participation in civil disobedience in the Allahabad region during the late 1920s and early 1930s.
- Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900–1990): took part in the civil-disobedience campaigns and was imprisoned; after independence she became a prominent diplomat.
- Annie Besant (1847–1933): a British-born reformer based largely in Madras who founded a Home Rule League and served as Congress president, showing that the movement drew support from a range of backgrounds.
How historians handle contested and uncertain details
Several popular stories about these women contain details that are difficult to verify. Exact birth years, individual quotations and dramatic episodes are sometimes drawn from later biographies or folklore rather than contemporary records. Where a figure's dates are uncertain, this article marks them with "c." (circa). Broader historical debates — over Partition responsibility, the relative role of moderates and revolutionaries, and the significance of the INA — are presented as ranges of scholarly opinion, not settled conclusions. Readers researching further should consult academic biographies and primary archives.
These women and Independence Day 2026
Their stories are often retold around Independence Day. In 2026, India marks the 80th Independence Day on 15 August, which completes 79 years since 1947 — a distinction explained in our guide to whether it is the 80th or 79th Independence Day. For the full observance, including the Red Fort ceremony and public programmes, see our Independence Day 2026 pillar, and for readers abroad, our Independence Day 2026 NRI guide.