Indian history Β· Freedom struggle Β· Master list

Indian Revolutionaries and Freedom Fighters: A Phase-by-Phase List from 1857 to 1947 with Key Facts, Slogans and Events

"Who said…?", "Who founded…?" and "Who was hanged in…?" questions about freedom fighters appear in almost every exam. This master list arranges India's revolutionaries and freedom fighters by phase of the struggle, with one-line facts and links to our detailed guides. Use it to revise the whole freedom movement quickly.

By PunjabExams Editorial Team Β· Updated 29 October 2026 Β· 6 min read Β· How we prepare guides

How the list is arranged

Freedom fighters are grouped by the phase of the struggle in which they were most active. Revolutionaries who used armed methods are listed alongside leaders of non-violent mass movements, because exams ask about both. Linked names lead to detailed guides.

The Revolt of 1857

Name Region Fact
Mangal Pandey Barrackpore Attacked officers on 29 March 1857; hanged 8 April β€” see 1857 guide
Bahadur Shah Zafar Delhi Proclaimed Emperor of Hindustan; exiled to Rangoon
Bakht Khan Delhi Military commander of the rebels at Delhi
Nana Sahib Kanpur Adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II; fate unknown
Tatya Tope Kanpur, central India Guerrilla leader; hanged April 1859
Rani Lakshmibai Jhansi Died fighting at Gwalior, 18 June 1858 β€” see guide
Begum Hazrat Mahal Lucknow Led the revolt in Awadh
Kunwar Singh Bihar Led the revolt at about 80 years of age
Maulvi Ahmadullah Faizabad "Lighthouse of the revolt"

Tribal and early peasant leaders

Name Movement Fact
Tilka Manjhi Paharia (1784) Early tribal hero of Bhagalpur
Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu Santhal Hul (1855) Hul Diwas, 30 June
Birsa Munda Ulgulan (1899–1900) "Dharti Aba"; Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, 15 November β€” see guide
Alluri Sitarama Raju Rampa (1922–24) Against forest laws
Rani Gaidinliu Naga movement Jailed 1932–1947
Baba Ram Singh Kuka (Namdhari) movement Boycott of British goods; Malerkotla (1872) β€” see Colonial Punjab
Vasudev Balwant Phadke Maharashtra (1879) Called the "father of armed rebellion"; died in Aden jail (1883)

Early nationalists and the Swadeshi era

Name Fact
Dadabhai Naoroji "Grand Old Man of India"; drain theory β€” see INC guide
Gopal Krishna Gokhale Moderate; Gandhi's political guru; Servants of India Society (1905)
Bal Gangadhar Tilak "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it"; Kesari and Maratha
Lala Lajpat Rai "Punjab Kesari"; died after the Simon Commission lathi charge (1928)
Bipin Chandra Pal Extremist; one of Lal–Bal–Pal
Aurobindo Ghosh Bande Mataram; Alipore bomb case (acquitted 1909)
V. O. Chidambaram Pillai Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (1906) β€” see Bengal partition guide
Subramania Bharati Tamil poet of the national movement

Revolutionaries of Bengal and Maharashtra

Name Fact
Chapekar brothers (Damodar and Balkrishna) Shot plague commissioner Rand at Poona (1897)
V. D. Savarkar Abhinav Bharat (1904); India House, London; The Indian War of Independence of 1857
Madan Lal Dhingra Shot Curzon Wyllie in London (1909)
Khudiram Bose Muzaffarpur bomb (1908); hanged 11 August 1908 β€” see Bengal revolutionaries
Prafulla Chaki Shot himself at Mokama (1908)
Rash Behari Bose Bomb on Lord Hardinge (1912); later Indian Independence League, Japan
Bagha Jatin Balasore gun battle (1915)
Surya Sen Chittagong armoury raid (1930); hanged 1934
Pritilata Waddedar Pahartali club attack (1932)
Binoy, Badal, Dinesh Writers' Building attack (1930)

Revolutionaries abroad and the Ghadar movement

Name Fact
Shyamji Krishna Varma Founded India House and the Indian Sociologist, London (1905)
Madam Bhikaji Cama Unfurled an Indian flag at Stuttgart (1907)
Lala Har Dayal Founder of the Ghadar Party (1913) β€” see Punjab freedom struggle
Sohan Singh Bhakna First president of the Ghadar Party
Kartar Singh Sarabha Hanged at 19 (1915)
Raja Mahendra Pratap Provisional Government of India at Kabul (1915)
Udham Singh Shot O'Dwyer in London (1940); hanged 31 July 1940

HRA and HSRA revolutionaries

Name Fact
Sachindra Nath Sanyal Founder of the HRA (1924); The Revolutionary
Ram Prasad Bismil Kakori (1925); hanged 19 December 1927 β€” see Kakori guide
Ashfaqulla Khan Kakori; hanged 19 December 1927
Rajendra Lahiri, Roshan Singh Kakori martyrs
Chandrashekhar Azad HSRA commander; died at Alfred Park, 27 February 1931
Bhagat Singh Assembly bomb (1929); hanged 23 March 1931 β€” see guide
Rajguru and Sukhdev Hanged with Bhagat Singh
Batukeshwar Dutt Assembly bomb with Bhagat Singh
Jatin Das Died after 63-day hunger strike (1929)
Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Durga Bhabhi Philosophy of the Bomb; Durga Bhabhi helped Bhagat Singh escape

Gandhian era leaders

Name Fact
Mahatma Gandhi Champaran (1917), Non-Cooperation, Dandi March, Quit India β€” see NCM, CDM, Quit India
Jawaharlal Nehru Purna Swaraj resolution (1929); first Prime Minister
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Kheda, Bardoli satyagraha (1928) β€” earned the title "Sardar"; integrated princely states
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Congress president 1940–46; Al-Hilal
Dr Rajendra Prasad Champaran; President of the Constituent Assembly; first President of India
C. Rajagopalachari Vedaranyam salt march; last Governor-General
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan "Frontier Gandhi"; Khudai Khidmatgars
Dr B. R. Ambedkar Mahad Satyagraha (1927); Poona Pact (1932); chief architect of the Constitution
Subhas Chandra Bose Forward Bloc; INA β€” see guide

Women freedom fighters

Name Fact
Sarojini Naidu "Nightingale of India"; first Indian woman Congress president (1925); Dharasana raid
Annie Besant Home Rule League; first woman Congress president (1917)
Aruna Asaf Ali Hoisted the flag at Gowalia Tank, 9 August 1942
Usha Mehta Secret Congress Radio (1942)
Matangini Hazra Shot at Tamluk (1942)
Kasturba Gandhi Died in detention at Aga Khan Palace (1944)
Captain Lakshmi Sahgal Rani of Jhansi Regiment, INA
Kanaklata Barua Shot at 17 while hoisting the flag at Gohpur, Assam (1942)
Sucheta Kripalani Quit India underground; later first woman Chief Minister (UP, 1963)

Famous slogans

Slogan Given by
"Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it" Bal Gangadhar Tilak
"Inquilab Zindabad" Coined by Hasrat Mohani; popularised by Bhagat Singh
"Do or Die" Mahatma Gandhi
"Give me blood and I will give you freedom" / "Delhi Chalo" / "Jai Hind" Subhas Chandra Bose
"Simon, Go Back" Coined by Yusuf Meherally
"Vande Mataram" Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (Anandamath)
"Sarfaroshi ki tamanna" Bismil Azimabadi; popularised by Ram Prasad Bismil
"Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" Lal Bahadur Shastri (1965, after independence)

Practice questions

  1. Q1. Who unfurled an Indian flag at Stuttgart in 1907?

    • (a) Sarojini Naidu
    • (b) Madam Bhikaji Cama
    • (c) Annie Besant
    • (d) Aruna Asaf Ali
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) Madam Bhikaji Cama β€” Madam Bhikaji Cama raised the flag at the International Socialist Congress, Stuttgart.

  2. Q2. Madan Lal Dhingra shot which British official in London in 1909?

    • (a) Michael O'Dwyer
    • (b) Curzon Wyllie
    • (c) W. C. Rand
    • (d) Douglas Kingsford
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) Curzon Wyllie β€” He shot Sir William Curzon Wyllie in July 1909.

  3. Q3. Vallabhbhai Patel received the title 'Sardar' after the:

    • (a) Kheda satyagraha
    • (b) Bardoli satyagraha
    • (c) Dandi March
    • (d) Quit India Movement
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) Bardoli satyagraha β€” The women of Bardoli gave him the title after the 1928 satyagraha.

  4. Q4. The slogan 'Inquilab Zindabad' was coined by:

    • (a) Bhagat Singh
    • (b) Hasrat Mohani
    • (c) Mahatma Gandhi
    • (d) Subhas Chandra Bose
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) Hasrat Mohani β€” Maulana Hasrat Mohani coined it; Bhagat Singh made it famous.

  5. Q5. Who set up a Provisional Government of India at Kabul in 1915?

    • (a) Rash Behari Bose
    • (b) Raja Mahendra Pratap
    • (c) Lala Har Dayal
    • (d) Shyamji Krishna Varma
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) Raja Mahendra Pratap β€” Raja Mahendra Pratap was its president, with Maulana Barkatullah as prime minister.

  6. Q6. Kanaklata Barua was martyred during the Quit India Movement in:

    • (a) Bengal
    • (b) Assam
    • (c) Odisha
    • (d) Bihar
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) Assam β€” She was shot at Gohpur, Assam, while carrying the national flag.

Frequently asked questions

Who is called the father of armed rebellion in India?

Vasudev Balwant Phadke, who led an armed revolt in Maharashtra in 1879.

Who founded India House in London?

Shyamji Krishna Varma, in 1905.

Which freedom fighters were hanged on 23 March 1931?

Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, in Lahore Central Jail.

Official sources

Rules, dates and figures can change. Always check the latest official notification or government release before relying on a detail.

Practise modern history MCQs All preparation guides