List of Freedom Fighters of India 1857 to 1947

India is a land of great freedom fighters who have contributed to making India a free nation. The greatest role in the freedom of India was played by our great heroes majorly Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Lala Lajpat Rai, Lal Bahadur Shashtri, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak to make this beautiful country a union of states. Besides these other Freedom Fighters and thousands of Indian patriots were also involved in freeing India from British Control. Read the complete article to know more about our Freedom Fighters of India, their contributions, and other details. 

Freedom Fighters of India

India got its independence on the 15th day of August of 1947, this day is the result of the freedom struggle fought by our great heroes and the 78th Independence Day in India is going to be celebrated on 15th August 2024 across the country.  A series of struggles,  movements, battles, and uprisings took place to make India independent through the contribution of great freedom fighters. Great freedom fighters such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dr. Lal Bhadur Shastri, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, and other freedom fighters have contributed a lot. There is no parameter to identify the top 10 Freedom Fighters of India because every Freedom Fighter in India has played a major role in giving freedom to the country and sacrificing their life. Here, we are sharing the list of freedom fighters of India and their massive contribution to the country's struggle for Independence for India after a lot of effort.

Freedom Fighters Name

The most well-known Indian freedom fighters were Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Subhas Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Chandra Shekhar Azad, and a few others. The name of the most popular freedom fighters in India are mentioned below-

1. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
2. Dr. Rajendra Prasad
3. Dr. Lal Bhadur Shastri
4. Sardar Vallabhabhai Patel
5. Bhagat Singh
6. Subhas Chandra Bose
7. Mahatma Gandhi
8. Jawaharlal  Nehru
9. Gopal Krishna Gokhale
10. Chandra Shekhar Azad
11. Dadabhai Naoroji
12. Tantia Tope
13. Bipin Chandra Pal
14. Lal Lajpat Rai
15. Ashfaqulla Khan
16. Nana Sahib
17. Sukhdev
18. Kunwar Singh
19. Mangal Pandey
20. V.D Savarkar
21. Annie Besant
22. Rani Lakshmi bai
23. Begum Hazrat Mahal
24. Kasturba Gandhi
25. Kamla Nehru
26. Vijay Laxmi Pandit
27. Sarojini Naidu
28. Aruna Asaf Ali
29. Madam Bhikaji Cama
30. Kamla Chattopadhyay
31. Sucheta Kriplani
32. Kittur Chennamma
33. Savitribai Phule
34. Usha Mehta
35. Lakshmi Sahgal
36. Dr. B.R Ambedkar
37. Rani Gaidinliu
38. Pingali Venkayya
39. Veerapandiya Kattabomman
40. Bakht Khan
41. Chetram Jatav
42. Chetram Jatav
43. Bahadur Shah Zafar
44. Manmath Nath Gupta
45. Rajendra Lahiri
46. Sachindra Bakshi
47. Roshan Singh
48. Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee
49. Bagha Jatin
50. Kartar Singh Sarabha
51. Basawon Singh (Sinha)
52. Senapati Bapat
53. Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi
54. Tirupur Kumaran
55. Parbati Giri
56. Kanneganti Hanumanthu
57. Alluri Sitarama Raju
58. Bhavabhushan Mitra
59. Chittaranjan Das
60. Prafulla Chaki

Contributions of Indian Freedom Fighters

Every Indian Freedom Fighter made his contribution to making India a beautiful place to live. The below table gives a brief about the contribution of the most popular freedom fighters of India-

Famous Freedom fighters of India

Know a brief about a few of the Freedom Fighters of India and their role and contributions to Indian freedom, which have been discussed in the below section.

Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi was born on 2nd October 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat. He is famously revered as the Father of Nation. His birthday on 2nd October is commemorated in India as ‘Gandhi Jayanti’, a national holiday, and worldwide as the ‘International Day of Non-Violence’ (Antarrashtriya Ahimsa Diwas) according to the declaration of UNO. He was born to Karamchand Gandhi and Putali bai. Gopal Krishna Gokhale was his political guru. His famous works include Indian Opinion, Harijan, and Young India. He is called ‘BAPU’ and ‘GANDHIJI’.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak 

Bal Gangadhar Tilak, who is also called Lokmanya, was a teacher, nationalist and activist. He is one of the LALBAL PAL TRIO. He was the first leader of the independence movement. He is titled "Lokmanya", which means "accepted by the people as their leader".He was called “The Maker of Modern India’’ by Mahatma Gandhi. His Marathi quote: "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it!" is famous.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad

Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of the Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He was a supporter of Mahatma Gandhi; Prasad was jailed during the Satyagraha of 1931 and the Quit India movement of 1942. Prasad served as Food and Agriculture Minister at the central level. Upon independence in 1947, Prasad was unanimously elected as the First President of India. Also called “Ajata Shatru” means a person with no enemies.

Lal Bahadur Shastri

Lal Bahadur Shastri (2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister and 6th Home Minister of India. He promoted White Revolution – a national campaign to increase the production and supply of milk. Underlining the need to boost India's food production, Shastri also launched the Green Revolution to increase food production, especially in the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Bhai Patel 

Sardar Vallabhbhai Bhai Patel (31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar, was an Indian lawyer, influential political leader, barrister, and statesman. Who served as the first Home Minister and First Deputy Minister of India. He is also called the ‘IRONMAN OF INDIA and UNIFIER OF INDIA’.

Bhagat Singh

Bhagat Singh (27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) a charismatic revolutionary participated in the mistaken murder of a junior British police officer which was a form of retaliation for the death of an Indian nationalist. He later took part in a symbolic Central Legislative Assembly bombing case in Delhi and a hunger strike in jail, which resulted in sympathetic coverage in Indian-owned newspapers which turned him into a household name in the Punjab region.

Subhas Chandra Bose

Subhas Chandra Bose 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was a nationalist. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was famously called ‘Netaji’. His supreme patriotism made him the great hero of India. His famous slogan is 'Tum Mujhe Khoon Do, Main Tumhe Aazadi Dunga’ and ‘Delhi Chalo. He formed Azad Hind Fauj and made several contributions to India's freedom struggle, Known for his militant approach and socialist policy which he used to gain independence.

Jawaharlal Nehru

Pt. Nehru was born in Allahabad on 14 November 1889. He completed his early education at his home under private tutors. At the age of 15, he went to England at Harrow School. After 2 years he went to Cambridge for further studies. In London, he completed his degree in law and became a barrister. In 1912 he returned to India and straight jumped into politics. He is known for his love and affection toward children. After his death, 14th November is celebrated as CHILDREN’S DAY marking his birth anniversary.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Gopal Krishna Gokhale, (May 9 1866-February 1915), was a social reformer who founded a sectarian organization to work for the relief of the underprivileged in India. He is among the moderate nationalists in the independence movement. Mahatma Gandhi's political guru was GL Gokhale.

Chandra Shekhar Azad

Chandra Shekhar Azad was one of the most important freedom fighters in the history of the Indian Independence Movement. After the death of its founder Ramprasad Bismil, Azad reorganized the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA). Born on July 23, 1906, to Pandit Sitaram Tiwari and Jagran Devi in the Bhavra village, in Madhya Pradesh. Azad's mother wanted him to be a Sanskrit scholar so she send him to Kashi Vidyapeeth for his education. He was attracted to ideas of independence and joined the non-cooperation movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi. At the age of 15, on being presented before the district magistrate, he was given the name Azad, his father Swatantrata, and his home as Jail.

Dadabhai Naoroji

Dadabhai Naoroji, (4 September 1825 – 30 June 1917) also known as the "Grand Old Man of India" and "Unofficial Ambassador of India", was an Indian political leader, writer, and scholar. He was a founding member of the Indian national congress and thrice president - 1886, 1893, and 1906. His theory of “wealth drain” got attention through his book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India.

Tantia Tope

Tantia Tope (also spelled Tatya Tope; 16 February 1814 – 18 April 1859) was a general in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and a notable leader. Despite a lack of military training, he is considered to be one of the best and most effective rebel generals in the Indian struggle for independence. He was born in Yeola, (near Nasik). Tantia took the title Tope which means commanding officer. His first name Tantia means General. He was the supporter of Nana Saheb of Bithur, he proceeded with the Gwalior contingent after the British reoccupied Kanpur (then known as Cawnpore). Tantia Tope along with Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi seized the city of Gwalior. Later he was defeated by General Napier.

Bipin Chandra Pal

On 7 November 1858, Bipin Chandra Pal also known as the ‘Father of Revolutionary Thoughts in India’ was born in Habiganj District, present-day Bangladesh. His family was a wealthy Hindu family. Pal’s father was a Persian scholar. Lal, Bal, and Aurobindo Ghosh inspired him a lot. He started spreading the idea of ‘swaraj’ to Indians. His famous book was ‘Indian Nationalism’, ‘Swaraj and ‘Nationality and Empire’, ‘The Basis of Social Reform’, ‘The New Spirit and Studies in Hinduism’, and ‘The Soul of India’.

Lala Lajpat Rai

Lala Lajpat Rai, popularly known as Punjab Kesari was a great author, freedom fighter, and politician He was one of the three members of the Lal Bal Pal trio. His famous works include Arya Samaj, USA: A Hindu Impression, The story of my Deportation, etc.

Ashfaqullah Khan

Ashfaqullah Khan was born on October 22, 1900, a freedom fighter who was sentenced to death in the Kakori train robbery along with Ram Prasad Bismil, for their role in the Kakori train robbery of 1925. He was also detained in the Faizabad jail. On April 1972 he was awarded the death sentence.

Nana Saheb Peshwa II 

Nana Saheb Peshwa II (19 May 1824 – 24 September 1859), also called Dhondu Pant was a great fighter, aristocrat, and rebellion of the 1857 revolt. Nana Saheb was the adopted son of Maratha Peshwa II that’s why he was denied pension by East India Company. The Standard policies of the British led him to join the rebellion of 1857.

Sukhdev Thapar

Sukhdev Thapar was born in Ludhiana, Punjab, on 15 May 1907. His parents were Ramlal Thapar and Ralli Devi. He belongs to the Hindu Community of the Khatri family. After his father’s death, he was brought up by his uncle. He worked as an Indian revolutionary who worked to make India independent along with Bhagat Singh and Shivaram Rajguru. He was among the senior member of HSRA, he was hanged on 23 March 1931 at the age of 23 Britishers.

Kunwar Singh

Kunwar Singh (born: 13 November 1777 – died: 26 April 1858) is popularly known as Veer Kunwar Singh or Veer Babu Kunwar Singh. He belongs to Ujjainiya caln in the Bhojpur district of Bihar. He was the chief organizer of the fight against the British in Bihar.

Mangal Pandey

Mangal Pandey was a great Indian soldier who played a great role in the Rebellion of 1857. He belongs to the 34th Bengal Native Infant regiment. In 1984, a postage stamp was issued by the Indian government in his remembrance. He was the first Indian soldier whose attack on the British was the first major incident of what came to be known as Sepoy mutiny.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar ( 28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966) known among followers by the honorific prefix Veer, was an Indian politician, activist, and writer. He was a leading face of Hindu Mahasabha. Savarkar was an atheist but a pragmatic practitioner of Hindu philosophy. His book THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE was banned by British colonial authorities.

Here, You read the top 20 Freedom Fighters of India and their contribution to the country. Along with the Indian men, Indian women also contributed to Indian freedom. We have also created a separate article on women Indian fighters of India. The link for the same is given below. 

List of Women Indian Fighters of India