Tara Rani Srivastava was an

Indian freedom fighter The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of a many methods. This is a l ...

, and part of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

's Quit India Movement. She and her husband, Phulendu Babu, lived in the

Saran district Saran district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Indian state of Bihar. The district, part of Saran Division, is also known as Chhapra district after the headquarters of the district, Chhapra. It is considered as one of the richest Zamindar ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

. In 1942, she and her husband were leading a march in Siwan towards the police station when he was shot by police. She nonetheless continued the march, returning later to find that he had died. She remained part of the struggle for freedom until the country's independence five years later.

Personal life and freedom struggle

Srivastava was born in Saran near the city of

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

. She married Phulendu Babu at an early age. Following public proposals which could have led to a surge in gender inequality, Tara Rani galvanized women from and around her village to join protest marches against the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

. On 12 August 1942, called upon by Mahatma Gandhi, she and her husband organized a march to raise the Flag of India in front of the Siwan police station, an act that would be seen as "a major defiance." The police, in preventing them from hoisting the flag, lathi charged the protesters. When they were unable to gain control, the police opened fire. Phulendu Babu was among the shot and wounded. Despite that, after bandaging Babu's wounds with strips of cloth torn from her sari, Tara Rani continued her march to the police station, where she attempted to hoist the flag; on her return, she discovered that her husband had died of his injuries. On 15 August 1942, a prayer meeting was held in

Chhapra Chhapra is a city and headquarters of the Saran district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated near the junction of the Ghaghara River and the Ganges River. Chhapra grew in importance as a river-based market in the 18th century when t ...

in honor of her husband's sacrifice for the country. She continued to be part of the freedom struggle until the Partition of India on 15 August 1947.Independence Day 2016: 10 unsung heroes from India’s history
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Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Srivastava, Tara Rani Year of birth missing Women Indian independence activists Indian independence activists from Bihar