1. India is country with rich heritage.
2. Our country’s history is full of folklores and marked by events that changed the course of history.
3. I have a keen interest in the history of our country and would love to learn more about it, particularly the period of struggle for independence.
4. I have read a lot about in our history books that how India became a colony of The East India Company and how the movement for freedom started.
5. The East India Company landed on the shores of India in the 17th century under the pretense of trade with Indian merchants.
6. What began as a trade soon became an invasion and before anybody could realize India became a colony of Britain.
7. The East India Company deployed divide and rule policy to undermine the unity of Indian states.
8. The infighting between Indian states was unduly exploited by the company.
9. While the princely states were engaged in fighting with each other, the company slowly and gradually gained control over smaller provinces and critical administrative functions of the country.
10. Once the company monopolized administrative functions it was a matter of time that the whole country became their property.
11. The company ruled over India for 200 years without any real resistance because they managed to manipulate the rulers of several Indian states for their own benefits.
12. But in 1857 the mutiny against British rule was ignited by a small yet a highly significant event in the context of India’s fight for freedom.
13. A small group of traders were forced by the company’s merchants to use bullet covers that were made from animal skin.
14. Since it was against their religious belief so they were resisted it which led to a skirmish between the traders and British soldiers.
15. After this event the fight for freedom gained the impetus which it lacked before.
16. In the following years many prominent leaders emerged and led this movement for freedom.
17. Like other revolutions, India’s revolution was also marked with some extremely gory events in which many people sacrificed their lives for this cause.
18. On the other end of the spectrum there were legends like Mahatma Gandhi who believed in the concept of non-violence and fought this was with unwavering faith in this concept.
19. Finally on 15 August 1947 British agreed to relinquish control over India.
20. While these are only the highlights of India’s freedom fight, I am interested to know more about the freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad and many more who were the unsung heroes of this freedom struggle.