Contribution of poets in the Indian Independence Struggle

The popular saying that the "pen is more powerful than the sword" holds true when we talk about  the Indian Freedom Struggle.

Literature is the food for human soul and Poems are the soul of Literature.

Poems are the most sublime form of literature and  have forever been the sweetest way of conveying eternal truths and pearls of wisdom. Poems also arouse soul-stirring emotions and ignite lamps if hope and inspirations.

The period of Freedom struggle saw the rise of  Nationalism. Each and every Indian united against the British force and faught as one for the Independence of their motherland.

While our freedom fighters faught the Britishers by putting their lives on stake, it was for the great poets of our country that India arose to the concept of a Nation and people's hearts were filled with patriotism and courage.

Poets like Gurudev Rabindranath Tegore, Sarojini Naidu,  Maithili Sharangupta, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar weaved magic into words by expressing their devotion towards their motherland in their own styles.

1. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore:-

Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore needs no introduction. A great intellectual, author and poet is famed for many beautiful works of patriotism.  He is the author of the National Anthem. The Jana Gana Mana is a log poem which sings the glory of India and her Constitution. The melodious composition compares the constitution to a loving mother who shall keep the nation united and away from all internal and external dangers.

Another beautiful poem is "Where the mind is without fear"  which vividly depicts his thoughts and well-wishing for our country and also talks of building an ideal nation .

2. Maithili Sharan Gupta:- 

Maithili Sharan Gupta was a great Hindi poet who chose to write in Khari boli during a time when  poets preferred writing in Braj-bhasha dilect. 

Most of the khand-kavyas(poem novellas)written by him revolve around various plots of the Ramayana. Saket,. panchvati and Kaikeyi are beautiful poignant masterpieces of literature which not only have a feminist perspective by bringing out the contributions of the female characters of the Ramayana but through stories of Lord Ram, bring out the concept of highest sacrifice and dutifullness for the motherland and values of ideal governance. He also wrote a poem Bharat-Bharati which is a masterpiece dedicated to the freedom struggle. He was thus given the title of Rashtrakavi and awarded the Padma Vibhushan.

3.Poet Hasrat Mohani:-

The slogan "Inquilab Zindabad"  which echoed through each and every street of India during was given by the poet Hasrat Mohani, his real name  Sayyed Fazl-ul-Hasn who wrote Urdu Gazls.  He was also a noted freedom fighter and the first to demand complete Independence(Azadi-e-kamil). 

He was jailed several times for various attempts such as publishing the magazine Urdu-e-Mualla which wrote against the oppressive policies of England.

In 1903, he was imprisoned and subjected to torturous physical labor. India was his motherland and he was Her true devoted son. During the partition, he was aggrieved and chose to remain in India. He could never imagine his country being divided and wanted India to be a confederation like USSR.

4. Sarojini Naidu:- 

Smt. Sarojini Naidu, fondly called the nightingale of India was an excellent orator, passionate freedom fighter, a woman rights activitist and a also a prolific poet. 

Sarojini Naidu was born as Sarojini Chatopadhyaya to Aghorinath Chatopadhyaya and Varada Sundari Devi. She was the eldest amongst eight siblings but still received formal education. She passed her matriculation examinations at the age of 12 with a rank and even went on to study in England. It was during this time that she started her career in writing. Naidu wrote a play "Maher Muneer" in Persian that impressed the nizam of Hyedrabad.  

Sarojini Naidu became an orator at a very young age in the year 1904, promoting Indian Independence and Women rights, especially women education. She developed strong ties with Sri Rabindranath Tegore, Gopalkrishna Gokhale and Sarala Devi Chaudhrani. She joined Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha and in 1919, as a part of the All India Home rule League, she went to London and in the next year, she participated in the Non-Cooperation movement.  Naidu's poems are written in English in the Lyric poetry style of British romanticism and yet are very essentially Indian.  Her first book was The Golden threshold which is dedicated to the Indian laymen such as palquin-bearers and weavers. It brings out the rich cultural and handicraft expertize of India, at the same time shows philosophical truths. "The Bird of Time" is her second and most strongly nationalist book which also contains the famous poem "The bazaars of Hyedrabad.  Her third book "The broken wing"  critiques gthe British exploitation of Indian mothers. It includes the poem Gift of India and Awake.

5.Ramdhari Singh Dinkar:-

Ramdhari Singh "Dinkar" known for classics like Rashmirathi and Kurukshetra was a great poet, essayist, academician and a passionate freedom fighter. He was born on 23rd September 1908. Dinkar emerged as a rebel poet as a consequence of the Indian freedom struggle. As a youth, Dinkar was an active participant in the Indian Independence struggle.  He also battled family economic issues as a student. Thus his poems often depict the impact of poverty. In the year 1928, Dinkar took part actively in the "Simon Go Back" movement. There, he saw Lala Lajpat Rai being mercilessly lathi-charged by the Britishers after which he succumbed to his injuries.  Dinkar's emotional nature was rattled and this disturbance and rebel against such injustice took the form of his first poem which was published in "Chhatra Sahodar" newspaper . During the Peasant's Satyagraha, Dinkar wrote 10 poems in a composition called "Vijay Sandesh"(Message of Victory).  While Maithili Sharan Gupta wrote on Ramayan, Dinkar took Mahabharat as his theme and through his compositions on various aspects of the epic, brought out the ideals of nationalism, courage of conviction and also vehemently criticized some of the ill-practices prevalent in the country at that time.

Rashmirathi, which is considered the best version of the epic of Mahabharata, narrates the story of Karna & is a strong protest against the caste-system practiced in our country. Kurukshetra is a poem on two levels, the first is an emotion of strong nationalism and patriot while the other is a global perspective when the memories of World War II are fresh in the poet's mind. It glorifies peace and talks of how peace and brotherhood in humanity should always be strived for but at the same time says that one should not shy away from a war if the country's sovereignty is at stake.  Parshuram ki Prateeksha is a collection of poems after the Indo-Chinese war which India lost and depicts the poet's agitation. the poem gives the message to aggressively strive to uphold the dignity and sovereignty of one's motherland.

Thus, we must realize the importance Literature plays in developing the human mind and the role it plays in Nation building. The Literature of any country is the reflection of it's rich culture and it's evolution over time. It is also the source for future generations to turn to if they wish to know their country well.  

For the Human soul, Literature is like the breath which keeps it alive. It is what makes people Human beings with emotions, knowledge and inspirations.

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