Important Personalities of the Indian Freedom Struggle Notes for UPSC: Moderates, Extremists, Revolutionaries, Gandhian Leaders, Social Reformers, Women Leaders, Slogans and Newspapers
Komal Gupta
UPSC Exam Expert & Content Editor
In this note
- 1.Why This Topic Matters in UPSC
- 2.The Moderates (1885 to 1905)
- 3.The Extremists and the Early Radicals (1905 to 1919)
- 4.The Revolutionaries
- 5.Gandhi and the Congress Leaders of the Gandhian Age
- 6.Social Reformers and the Voice of the Oppressed
- 7.Women Leaders of the Freedom Struggle
- 8.Slogans, Titles and Newspapers
- 9.Different Ideologies Within the Freedom Movement
- 10.Relations and Differences Among Leaders
- 11.Memory Tricks and the Mains Angle
- 12.Previous-Year Style Practice
- 13.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
PDF Notes: Important Personalities of the Indian Freedom Struggle Notes for UPSC: Moderates, Extremists, Revolutionaries, Gandhian Leaders, Social Reformers, Women Leaders, Slogans and Newspapers
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The Indian freedom struggle was shaped by hundreds of leaders from different regions, religions, classes and ideologies. For UPSC, the questions on the personalities are asked in a simple form: "Who founded this organisation?", "Who wrote this book?", "Who gave this slogan?" and "Which leader is linked with this movement?" This note gives you a complete revision guide to the most important freedom fighters, grouped by their approach (moderates, extremists, revolutionaries, Gandhian leaders, social reformers and women leaders), with their organisations, books, slogans and contributions, and a final section on the slogans, titles and newspapers.
Why This Topic Matters in UPSC
The personalities are the "human face" of Modern History. Questions come as match-the-following in the Prelims, and in the Mains as the analysis of the role of a leader or an ideology. If you remember the one-line identity of each leader (what he or she is famous for), you can solve almost every question. Use these notes together with the chronology of events in our Indian National Congress and Revolutionary Nationalism and Subhas Chandra Bose INA notes.
The Moderates (1885 to 1905)
| Leader | Known As | Key Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Dadabhai Naoroji | Grand Old Man of India | Drain of Wealth theory in 'Poverty and Un-British Rule in India'; first Indian elected to the British House of Commons (1892); thrice President of the Congress |
| Gopal Krishna Gokhale | Political guru of Gandhi | Founded the Servants of India Society (1905); moderate leader who raised the issues of the Indian finances in the Imperial Council |
| Surendranath Banerjee | Rashtraguru | Founded the Indian Association (1876); led the anti-partition agitation |
| Pherozeshah Mehta | Lion of Bombay | Founded the Bombay Presidency Association; leader of the early Congress |
| W.C. Bonnerjee | First Congress president | Presided over the Bombay session of 1885 |
| A.O. Hume | Father of the Congress | A retired British civil servant who helped to organise the Congress |
| Badruddin Tyabji | Congress president in 1887 | First Muslim president of the Congress |
The Extremists and the Early Radicals (1905 to 1919)
| Leader | Known As | Key Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Bal Gangadhar Tilak | Lokmanya | 'Swaraj is my birthright'; newspapers Kesari and Mahratta; Home Rule League (1916); public festivals of Ganapati and Shivaji |
| Lala Lajpat Rai | Punjab Kesari | Arya Samaj, Punjab National Bank founder; hurt in the lathi charge against the Simon Commission in 1928 and died soon after |
| Bipin Chandra Pal | Father of revolutionary thoughts | Part of the Lal-Bal-Pal trio; Swadeshi and boycott leader |
| Aurobindo Ghosh | Sri Aurobindo | Extremist leader, Alipore Bomb case (1908), later a spiritual teacher at Pondicherry |
| Annie Besant | Irish theosophist | Started the Home Rule League (1916), became the first woman President of the Congress (1917) |
| V.O. Chidambaram Pillai | Kappalottiya Tamilan | Started the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company in Tamil Nadu |
The Revolutionaries
| Revolutionary | Organisation or Event | Key Point |
|---|---|---|
| Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki | Muzaffarpur bomb case (1908) | Among the youngest martyrs of the freedom struggle |
| V.D. Savarkar | Abhinav Bharat, India House | Wrote 'The Indian War of Independence, 1857' |
| Madan Lal Dhingra | India House, London | Shot Curzon Wyllie in 1909 |
| Rash Behari Bose | Delhi conspiracy case, Ghadar, INA | Later helped in the formation of the INA in Japan |
| Lala Har Dayal | Ghadar Party (1913) | Organised the Indians in the USA and Canada |
| Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan | HRA, Kakori action (1925) | Executed in 1927 |
| Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru | HSRA, Assembly bomb (1929) | Hanged on 23 March 1931; popularised 'Inquilab Zindabad' |
| Chandrashekhar Azad | HSRA commander | Died in an encounter at Alfred Park, Allahabad, in 1931 |
| Surya Sen (Masterda) | Chittagong Armoury Raid (1930) | Hanged in 1934 |
Gandhi and the Congress Leaders of the Gandhian Age
| Leader | Known As | Key Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Mahatma Gandhi | Father of the Nation | Satyagraha; Champaran, Kheda, Ahmedabad, Non-Cooperation, Dandi, Quit India; newspapers Young India, Harijan, Navajivan |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | Pandit, first Prime Minister | Lahore session of 1929; author of 'Discovery of India' and 'Glimpses of World History' |
| Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel | Iron Man of India | Leader of the Kheda and Bardoli satyagrahas; integrated the princely states |
| Rajendra Prasad | First President of India | Leader in the Champaran movement; President of the Constituent Assembly |
| Maulana Abul Kalam Azad | Imam-ul-Hind | Newspaper Al-Hilal; Congress president in 1923 and 1940 to 1946 |
| C. Rajagopalachari | Rajaji | Rajaji Formula (1944), the Vedaranyam Salt March, the last Governor-General of independent India |
| Subhas Chandra Bose | Netaji | Forward Bloc (1939), Azad Hind Fauj, slogans 'Delhi Chalo' and 'Jai Hind' |
| Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan | Frontier Gandhi | Founded the Khudai Khidmatgar (Red Shirts) in the North-West Frontier |
| Vinoba Bhave | First individual satyagrahi (1940) | Later started the Bhoodan movement in 1951 |
| Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia | Socialist leaders | Congress Socialist Party (1934); leaders of the underground Quit India movement |
Social Reformers and the Voice of the Oppressed
- B.R. Ambedkar: Started the newspaper Mooknayak (1920), the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha (1924), led the Mahad Satyagraha (1927), and was the chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution.
- Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule: Founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (1873) and started schools for girls.
- Periyar E.V. Ramasamy: The Self-Respect Movement and the Vaikom Satyagraha participant.
- Narayana Guru: "One caste, one religion, one God for man" in Kerala.
- Syed Ahmad Khan: The Aligarh movement for modern education among the Muslims.
Women Leaders of the Freedom Struggle
Women played a very large role. Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi became the symbol of the Revolt of 1857. Sarojini Naidu, the "Nightingale of India", was the first Indian woman to become the President of the Congress (1925) and the first woman Governor of an Indian state. Kasturba Gandhi took part in the movements with Gandhi. Aruna Asaf Ali hoisted the flag at the Gowalia Tank Maidan in 1942, and Usha Mehta ran the underground Congress Radio. Captain Lakshmi Sahgal led the Rani of Jhansi Regiment of the INA. Bhikaji Cama unfurled an early version of the Indian flag at Stuttgart in 1907. Matangini Hazra was killed leading a procession in Bengal in 1942.
Slogans, Titles and Newspapers
| Slogan or Title | Linked With |
|---|---|
| 'Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it' | Bal Gangadhar Tilak |
| 'Do or Die' (Karo ya Maro) | Gandhi, 1942 |
| 'Delhi Chalo' and 'Jai Hind' | Subhas Chandra Bose |
| 'Inquilab Zindabad' | Popularised by Bhagat Singh (coined by Hasrat Mohani) |
| 'Vande Mataram' | Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, in the novel Anandamath |
| 'Sare Jahan Se Accha' | Muhammad Iqbal |
| 'Simon Go Back' | The boycott slogan of the Simon Commission, 1928 |
| Newspaper Kesari | Tilak |
| Newspaper Young India | Gandhi |
| Newspaper Al-Hilal | Maulana Azad |
| Newspaper Amrita Bazar Patrika | Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh |
Different Ideologies Within the Freedom Movement
The leaders of the freedom struggle did not share one single idea. Liberals such as Gokhale and Naoroji wanted gradual reforms within the British system. Nationalists such as Tilak and Pal wanted self-government through mass pressure. Gandhians believed in non-violence, truth and village-based development. Socialists such as Nehru, Jayaprakash Narayan and Lohia stressed economic equality and the rights of the workers and peasants. Communists such as M.N. Roy and S.A. Dange organised the labour movement. Revolutionary nationalists believed in armed action, and Muslim leaders like Maulana Azad and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan worked for a composite nationalism, while Jinnah and the Muslim League later stressed the separate identity. Social reformers such as Ambedkar and Periyar argued that political freedom had no meaning without social justice. Knowing these streams helps you to answer the ideology-based questions of the Mains.
Relations and Differences Among Leaders
Several famous pairs are useful for the Prelims and for the essays. Gokhale and Tilak differed on the methods, though both loved the country. Gandhi and Subhas Bose differed on the question of the war and the use of force, but Bose called Gandhi the "Father of the Nation" first, in his radio speech of 1944. Gandhi and Ambedkar differed on the separate electorates, and the Poona Pact was the compromise. Nehru and Patel were colleagues with different styles, but Gandhi kept them together. Understanding these relations will make the character of the movement clearer.
Memory Tricks and the Mains Angle
For the Prelims, link each person with a place, a newspaper and a number: Gokhale with the Servants of India Society, Tilak with Kesari, Bose with the INA, Patel with Bardoli. For the Mains, do not write only a biography. Show the ideas and the methods: the moderates believed in the constitutional methods and the economic analysis; the extremists wanted to use mass pressure; the revolutionaries wanted to awaken the people through sacrifice; Gandhi combined the moral force with the mass action; the social reformers insisted that political freedom must go with social equality. This comparison can fit in many questions.
Previous-Year Style Practice
- Who founded the Servants of India Society? Answer: Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
- Who founded the Forward Bloc? Answer: Subhas Chandra Bose.
- Who was the first woman President of the Congress? Answer: Annie Besant (1917); the first Indian woman was Sarojini Naidu (1925).
- Who is known as the Frontier Gandhi? Answer: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Who is called the Grand Old Man of India?
Dadabhai Naoroji is called the Grand Old Man of India.
Who was Gandhi's political guru?
Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
Who gave the slogan 'Swaraj is my birthright'?
Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
Who founded the Forward Bloc?
Subhas Chandra Bose in 1939.
Who is known as the Iron Man of India?
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Who was the first Indian woman President of the Congress?
Sarojini Naidu, in 1925.
Who was the first woman President of the Indian National Congress?
Annie Besant, in 1917.
Who is called the Frontier Gandhi?
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who founded the Khudai Khidmatgar.
Who started the newspaper Mooknayak?
B.R. Ambedkar in 1920.
Who led the Chittagong Armoury Raid?
Surya Sen (Masterda Surya Sen) in 1930.
Who wrote the book 'Poverty and Un-British Rule in India'?
Dadabhai Naoroji.
How are the personalities asked in UPSC?
As match-the-following questions linking leaders with organisations, newspapers, books and slogans.
Previous chapter
Indian Freedom Struggle Chronology 1857 to 1947: Year-wise Timeline Notes for UPSC with Movements, Pacts, Acts, Commissions, Missions and Leaders
Next chapter
Post-Independence India Notes for UPSC: Integration of Princely States, Linguistic Reorganisation of States, Five Year Plans, Wars, Emergency and Major Reforms up to 1991
Komal Gupta
UPSC Exam Expert & Content Editor
Komal is a senior UPSC exam strategist with 8+ years of experience helping aspirants crack CSE, CDS and NDA exams. She writes in-depth notification breakdowns, exam pattern guides and preparation strategies.