Unsung Heroes | History Corner | Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Culture, Government of India

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Paying tribute to India’s freedom fighters

Matangini Hazra

Paschim Medinipur (West Medinipur), West Bengal

November 11, 2021 to December 30, 2021

Matangini Hazra was an Indian revolutionary who participated in the Indian independence movement until she was shot dead by the British Indian police in front of the Tamluk Police Station on 29 September 1942. She was affectionately known as Gandhi buri, Bengali for old lady Gandhi.

In 1905, she became actively interested in the Indian independence movement as a Gandhian. A notable feature of the freedom struggle in Midnapore was the participation of women. In 1932, she took part in the Non-Cooperation Movement and was arrested for breaking the Salt Act. She was promptly released but protested for the abolition of the tax. Arrested again, she was incarcerated for six months at Baharampur. After being released, she became an active member of the Indian National Congress and took to spinning her own Khadi. In 1933, she also attended the subdivisional Congress conference at Serampore and was injured in the ensuing baton charge by the police.

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