The Union government is planning to showcase unsung hero’s and little-known groups and events of the freedom struggle during the yearlong celebrations to mark 75 years of India’s independence, officials said on Friday, adding that several events and lectures will be organised to underline their contribution.

The government has drawn up a list of 146 names and planned 75 regional, six national and two international seminars under the banner of “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”, the campaign to mark 75 years of Independence.

So as India marks its freedom day today, we tell you the tale of such unsung heroes whose names despite being worthy of all the glory that there is, remain anonymous to the masses today.

Aruna Asaf Ali

At the age of 33, Ali hoisted the Indian National Congress flag at the Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay during Quit India Movement in 1942.

An arrest warrant was issued in her name but she went underground to evade arrest and started an underground movement. The British government announced then a reward of 5,000 rupees for her capture. After India’s Independence, she remained active in politics and social work but never received recognition.

Bhikaji Cama

People may have heard her name on roads and buildings, but very few know that Cama was not only a part of India’s independence movement but also an iconoclast who stood for gender equality during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She donated most of her personal belongings to an orphanage for girls. She also unfurled the Indian flag at the International Socialist Conference at Stuttgart in Germany, 1907.

Lakshmi Sahgal

Captain Lakshmi was an officer in the Indian Army who also served in World War II. When Sahgal heard that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was building an army of women soldiers, she enlisted herself. She was directed by the high command to form a female regiment called ‘Rani of Jhansi regiment, where she was appointed as a Captain.

Kanaklata Barua

Also known as Birbala and Shaheed, Barua was an Indian Independence activist and AISF leader. Barua was shot dead by the British while leading a procession bearing the National Flag during the Quit India Movement of 1942. She was only 17 years of age at the time of her martyrdom.

Kushal Konwar

The President of Sarupathar Congress Committee was an Indian Tai-Ahom freedom fighter from Assam. He is the only martyr who was hanged in the last phase of the Quit India Movement of 1942-43.