It would be no exaggeration to state that the History of India is rich with the contributions made by many women of eminence from time to time in various fields of human activity. Their courageous deeds and notable accomplishments have been well recognised. The purpose of this study is to assess the role of women of the Punjab in the freedom movement of India during the years 1919-47. Even when the social set-up in India was marked by backwardness, orthodoxy, conservatism and traditionalism, women in sizeable numbers came forward and helped in furthering the cause of India’s freedom. This book is an analytical study of the role of Punjabi women in all the phases of Satyagraha launched by Gandhi to achieve India’s freedom. Besides the different phases of the non-violent satyagraha there were people who believed that only an armed revolution could liberate India. Such people organised their secret revolutionary societies to create violence. The women of the Punjab who lent their valuable assistance to these secret revolutionary societies are also unearthed. An attempt has also been made to bring into limelight even the most unknown women freedom fighters of the Punjab. Though these women were less educated but had such a marvellous understanding that when they got an opportunity to prove their might and calibre, they did not lag behind. Their joining the movement in itself is very creditable but their valuable assistance, strong dedication and deep involvement in the national movement deserves to be mentioned in the Roll of Honour of those who fought for India’s independence. The present study is based almost wholly on the contemporary and primary sources such as proceedings of the Home Department, Political, Foreign and Fortnightly reports, Administrative reports, records of the Indian National Congress, private papers of the women participants and political leaders, conspiracy cases, files of the various newspapers and journals, autobiographies and biographies, reminiscences of the leading figures of the movement and above all in the present study it was thought fit to interview most of the freedom fighters among the women in the region. Here the region stands for the area of the Punjab before the partition of 1947 (comprising the total area now in Pakistan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the present Punjab). The work covers women of all the major communities. This study is a humble tribute to the women of the Punjab whose contribution, dedication, and patience is a saga of sacrifice, sufferance and above all of fortitude and courage of their conviction.
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