Did We Have Any Female Freedom Fighters?” Asked The 4-Year-Old

“Dress up as a freedom fighter” the notice from school said.
Simple enough. My 4-year-old and I scrolled through images of Indian freedom fighters to help him pick his costume. Mahatma Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose were quickly rejected—they wore glasses. Lala Lajpat Rai’s grand moustache wasn’t cool enough.

Finally, we settled on Bhagat Singh. Clean moustache, stylish fedora. Approved!

But just as I was wrapping things up, my son looked up at me and asked:
“Mama, what will the girls in my class dress as? Did we have any female freedom fighters?”

I rattled off a few names—Sarojini Naidu, Rani Lakshmibai, Annie Besant—and then… I was stuck. Why couldn't I think of more names?

Was it because we didn’t have many female freedom fighters?

Or because our history books didn’t highlight them enough?

To double-check, I asked my husband—an actual History Honours graduate—to name five. He couldn’t either.

At pickup the next day, I noticed other moms must have had the same dilemma.
Little girls were dressed as Jhansi ki Rani, Sarojini Naidu, and a few came as Mahatma Gandhi. The rest? Blank stares.

And yet, images from the Dandi March and Quit India Movement clearly show women standing shoulder to shoulder with men.

So where were the stories?

The answer: buried under decades of history retold through a patriarchal lens.

So this Independence Day, when my son asks again, I’ll be ready. Here's a list I’ve compiled—and one I hope grows each year:

• Where: Karnataka
  
• When: 1824
  
• One of the first women to lead an armed rebellion against the British.
  
• After her husband and son died, she adopted an heir but the British refused to recognize him under the Doctrine of Lapse.
  
• She fought fiercely, even winning early battles, but was eventually captured and imprisoned for life.

• Where: Indian National Army (INA), Singapore
  
• Led by: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
  
• Who: Dr. Lakshmi Sahgal – a practicing physician turned revolutionary.
  
• She led a 5,000-strong all-women regiment, trained for actual combat.
  
• Arrested in Burma in 1945, later worked tirelessly for refugee rehabilitation post-independence.

Where: Manipur & Nagaland

• Age: Just 13 when she joined the freedom movement.
  
• At 16, arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment for fighting the British.
  
• Released after independence, she became a powerful tribal and political leader.
  
• Awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1982.
  

• Where: Awadh (modern-day Uttar Pradesh)
• After her husband, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, was exiled, she took charge.
  
• She became a key leader in the 1857 Revolt, commanding rebel forces.
  
• Fought to protect Awadh’s sovereignty with remarkable resilience.

• Age: 71 during the Quit India Movement
  
• Led 6,000 women volunteers to storm a police station in Tamluk, West Bengal.
  
• Shot dead while chanting "Vande Mataram", still clutching the Congress flag.
  

These women weren’t passive supporters merely handing out flyers.
They led armies, rallied masses, faced life sentences, and fought bullets with slogans. And yet, most of us don’t remember their names.

Let’s change that.

A: Yes! The Rani of Jhansi Regiment under Subhash Chandra Bose’s INA was an all-women combat unit led by Captain Lakshmi Sahgal.

A: Absolutely. Their stories are inspiring, visual, and filled with bravery. Sharing them through books, videos, or simple storytelling helps keep their legacy alive.

By the time India celebrates its next Independence Day, I hope to have an even longer list of women to share with my son.

If we’re rewriting history books, let’s make space for these women—not just on stage for fancy dress competitions, but in the core of our national identity.

And next time someone asks, "Did India have any female freedom fighters?"
I hope we all say, “Yes. So many. Let me tell you about them.”

Priyanka Bhattacharya Dutt is a journalist, mother, and co-founder of Tura Turi—a children's brand inspired by art and storytelling. When not Googling answers to her son’s questions, she’s usually rewriting forgotten narratives one post at a time.