Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav Series

Rajkumar Shukla

Raj Kumar Shukla was the farmer behind the ChamparanKisan Movement, one that symbolizes the Indian Freedom Struggle and the role of Gandhiji.
Raj Kumar was the person who convinced Gandhiji to visit Champaran. It was due to his efforts that farmers were freed from the forced Indigo cultivation.
Gandhiji adopted Satyagraha for the first time on the Indian soil in Champaran.

Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi

He joined the Non-Cooperation Movement in the year 1921. He attended the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Session held at Ahmedabad (1921), and supported the ‘Poorna Swaraj’ motion demanded by Hasrat Mohani.
Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi met Gandhiji at Sabarmati Ashram.
He was a representative of the Central Khilafat Committee, who later took charge of the Calcutta Khilafat Committee.
He also opposed the two-nation theory initiated by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He served as the first General Secretary of the All India Jamhur Muslim League, which was established to counter the All India Muslim League demanding a separate nation.

Babu Chotelal Shrivastava

Shri Babu Chotelal Shrivastava was a freedom fighter from Chhattisgarh. He was a true devotee and follower of Mahatma Gandhi.
He started participating in national movements by coming in contact with Pt. Sundarlal Sharma and Pt. Narayanrao Meghawale.
In the year 1915, he established the Srivastava Library.
Also, he was among the principal organizers of the Dhamtari Tehsil Political Council in the year 1918.
Chotelal Srivastava started Kandel Nahar Satyagraha agitation, a rebellion against the Britishers who had imposed too much taxes on farmers and perpetrated cruelty to recover the levy.
- The Kandel Nahar Satyagraha also drew Mahatma Gandhi to visit the village.
- During his visit, Mahatma Gandhi praised the leadership and active role of Babu Chotelal Srivastava in the freedom struggle.
- Gandhiji had said that this is the first Satyagraha in the fight against British rule.
Babu Chotelal organized the peasants against the tyranny of the British Raj. This was the first unprecedented demonstration of organized manpower against English imperialism.
In the year 1921, he established Khadi Production Center for Swadeshi movement.

Hollwell Monument Removal Movement conducted by Netaji in 1940 at Calcutta

Subhas Bose endeavoured to consolidate Muslim support in his favour in Calcutta. His efforts in this direction began with the agitation to remove the Holwell Monument which was erected by G. Holwell ‘at his cost during the short tenure of his Calcutta Governorship in 1760 to commemorate those deceased in the Black Hole.
The monument was a symbol representing the alleged savagery of the last Nawab of Bengal, Sirajuddowla, and the bravery of the British soldiers who sacrificed their lives.
It was argued, ‘the monument must go because it is not merely an unwarranted stain on the memory of the Nawab but has stood in the heart of Calcutta for the last 150 years or more as the symbol of our slavery and humiliation.’
The meeting by SC Bose was definitely illustrative of a unity in the sense that not only was it attended by the Hindus and anti- government Muslims, but also by the Muslim League Student Organization.
As regards the removal of the Monument, neither the ministry nor anybody from the de facto ruling authority objected.
The Holwell Monument was finally removed, but Bose remained in prison until December 1940.