Monica Lakhmana

75 VICTORIES VISIONARIES VOICES

While most of us are familiar with the men who took part in India's independence movement in an inherently patriarchal society, the unsung women freedom fighters are unremembered. Their selflessness, courage, and achievements are invisible in Indian memories, and their participation in the freedom struggle has historically remained unacknowledged. The Book is an effort at informing future generations about past events and the 'telling' of the history of India's fearless and sharp women. Only then can present-day independent India be truly inclusive. The past also offers a pattern of how people addressed differences and inequality. The book has seventy-five narratives coinciding with seventy-five years of India's independence. The narratives weave between the eighteenth century and the twenty-first century, and the stories tie back to the title of the book. This book is dedicated to the memory of countless brave Indians who secured an independent India for future generations; for a majority who lived to see an independent India and the multitudes who carry on to work earnestly in the development of India.

Victories

The first section, Victories, explores the moral strength of the majestic Ranis. The Indian Ranis and their women commander-in-chief played a crucial role in ruling their states after the Rajas were either treacherously killed or exiled. They won and lost fierce battles and were an inspiration to many women who followed and rose against British rule. Their selflessness, courage, and achievements are invisible in Indian memories. Historical accounts of their participation in fighting the British administration remain either unacknowledged or brief passages or even lost.

Visionaries

The second section, Visionaries puts a spotlight on the women activists of the nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century women, the freedom fighters, educators, writers, poets, and women’s rights activists. Their narratives are impressive and you begin to wonder how they accomplished the extraordinary at a young age when India was an orthodox patriarchal country, where child marriages were common, the caste system was prevalent, there was low female literacy, and an era when women were confined within the four walls of their homes. They were unified in their approach, gave strength to new perspectives, and championed the emergence of a free India.

Voices

The third section, Voices brings forward the aspirations and challenges of present-day women in the twenty-first century. The extensive roles these women play in building a new India. Aware that education and freedom of expression were critical in the journey toward women's empowerment, the Indian government encouraged the political and economic participation of women. Today, women hold powerful positions, in the government, corporations, and as entrepreneurs.

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