It has been more than sixty years of India's independence and over the years the country has achieved remarkable growth in every sphere. But, how many of us seriously remember the martyrs who fought for the nation's freedom? Today, people have forgotten the sacrifices and struggles of freedom fighters who selflessly fought for our independence. Freedom came after a century long freedom struggle. People from different sections and religions fought together to achieve freedom from 200 years slavery. Mahatma Gandhi, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Bhagat Singh, Subhash Chandra Bose and other freedom activists brought the people together and forced back the British from India. Freedom activists used mass media such as newspaper, magazines, pamphlets etc to spread awareness about the freedom movement.
It all started with the 1857 Sepoy mutiny. Mangal Pandey, the first martyr of India's freedom movement, opposed the racial discrimination directed at Indian soldiers in the British army. He openly challenged British government and sacrificed his life for the sake of freedom. His death kindled the flame of freedom across the nation. After 1857, British Empire faced various big and small challenges from the people of India demanding freedom. Nana Sahib of Bithur, Jhansi Rani Laxmi Bai and the landlord of Jagdishpur (Arrah, Bihar) Kunwar Singh fought against the inhumane dominance of British Empire. These struggles took place in isolated regions of India and hence, met with little success, But, these battles encouraged the people of India to stand against the British Empire.
By the 20th century, the dissatisfaction against British government took a concrete shape. A number of revolutionary group emerged across the nation in the beginning of 1900. During this period, British government faced tough fight with violent activists. There were a number of violent attacks on the British during the initial years of the 20th century. And then the iconic leader of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi came to the fore. He with his principles of Satyagraha and Non-violence (Ahinsa), he led India towards the path of freedom. Political leaders, such as Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Gopal Krishna Gokhle firmly stood by Gandhiji's side. Martyrs like Chandra Shekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh sacrificed their life for the sake of India's freedom.
Mahatma Gandhi's famous Non-Cooperative Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement and Quit India Movement had shaken the root of the British Empire. The whole nation came together and followed the foot step of Mahatma Gandhi to attain freedom. A number of freedom movements and two successive world Wars eventually drained the resources of the British empire and they finally decided to leave India. At last on June 3, 1947, the then Viceroy of India, Lord Viscount Louis Mountbatten announced that British would leave Indian subcontinent by January 1948. The announcement of freedom came along with heart breaking partition of India. In the leadership of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Muslim community demanded for separate country, Pakistan. After the announcement of new country, communal riots spread across the nation and the people who fought together, became enemies.