India Unbound
Sites of Struggle
Some places in India remember a long peaceful march, a brave call to the whole nation and a flag raised by an army of freedom fighters. Let's visit them!
Did you know?
On 12 March 1930, Mahatma Gandhi set out from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad with 78 followers. They walked about 385 km in 24 days to Dandi, where Gandhi broke the unfair salt law.
On 8 August 1942, Gandhi gave the call to 'Quit India' at Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay. The next day, Aruna Asaf Ali hoisted the Congress flag there. Today it is called August Kranti Maidan.
On 14 April 1944, the Indian National Army (INA) raised the tricolour at Moirang in Manipur, for the first time on Indian soil. An INA memorial and museum stand there today.
Try this: Freedom Trail Map
Draw an outline map of India. Mark five places linked to the freedom struggle, such as Sabarmati, Dandi and Moirang. Next to each, write one line about what happened there. Then ask an elder at home if they know a freedom-struggle story from your own town or state, and add it to your map.
Go further: Satyagraha: The Strength of Truth
Satyagraha means 'holding firmly to truth'. It was Gandhi's way of fighting injustice without violence: through peaceful protest and by refusing to obey unfair laws. His first satyagraha in India was in Champaran, Bihar, in 1917, where he helped indigo farmers who were being treated unfairly. Later, leaders in other countries, such as Martin Luther King Jr. in the USA, were inspired by these peaceful methods.