The Nationalist Movements in India were organized as mass movements emphasizing and raising questions concerning the interests of the people of India. In most of these movements, people were encouraged to take action. Provincial roots of Indian nationalism, however, may be traced to the beginning of the era of crown rule in Bombay, Bengal, and Madras.

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Bengal and neighboring areas- the epicenter:

• Bengal, as West Bengal is popularly known, enjoys eminence for its immense contribution to Indian Independence Movement.
• With the Battle of Plassey fought against the British East Indian Company in 1757, the seeds of freedom struggle were sown in the soil of Bengal.
• It was the first rebellion to have paved the way for national freedom movement across the county. Mangal Pandey, the first martyr in the history of Indian freedom struggle, was a noble son of Bengal.
• In the early 20th-century, Bengal emerged as a hotbed of the Indian independence movement, as well as the epicenter of the Bengali Renaissance.
• The Swadeshi Movement was the expression of the outrage triggered in Bengal by the partition of the province of Bengal in 1905.
• Revolutionary nationalism emerged as a potent political force in Bengal in the wake of the Swadeshi Movement in the first decade of the 20th century and thereafter it worked alongside mainstream nationalism that was represented by the Congress party, sometimes in cooperation, at other times along parallel tracks.
• Rabindranath Tagore who brought the Nobel Prize for literature to Bengal fired up the spirit of the revolutionaries through his patriotic songs and poems: “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high”. Rammohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda and Kazi Najrul Islam carried the torch of nationalism in British India.
• The freedom fighters of the then undivided Bengal (including both West Bengal and Bangladesh) were such revolutionary figures as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Khudiram, Chittaranjan Das, Surya Sen, Prafulla Chaki, Rash Behari Bose, Jatindranath Mukherjee and Matangini Hazra.
• Bengal was the epicenter of “Quit India” movement in 1942.

Contribution from North India:

• Punjab is known for the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh in the revolution against the British.
• A firm believer in the Marxist ideologies, he spread the fire of freedom movement throughout the then undivided Punjab. He motivated the youth of Punjab to join the Indian Independence Movement.
• Bhagat Singh was hanged at the age of 23.
• The Jallianwala Bagh massacre 1919 in Punjab was one of the deepest wounds inflicted to Mother India.
• Today, this historical site with a memorial dedicated to the martyrs is a tourist attraction in Punjab.
• The murder of British Police Officer John Saunders, was one of the greatest of Bhagat Singh’s revolutionary activities.
• Chandra Sekhar Azad and Lala Lajpat Rai are the other noted revolutionary figures of Punjab.

Contribution from West India:

• If Bengal was instrumental in active revolution for freedom of the country, Gujarat in the west of India followed the path of non-violence, shown by Mahatma Gandhi, in protest against the British rule.
• Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most popular nationalists, was the axis of Non-cooperation National Movement all over the country.
• Some of the epoch-making historic events such as the “Non-cooperation” movement, Civil Disobedience movement “Quit India” movement and “Dandi March” were driven by his principle and leadership.
• He had initiated the country with the mantra, “Do or Die”.
• Sardar Vallabhai Patel, an ardent follower of Gandhiji, is another name associated with the country’s freedom struggle in Gujarat.
• The torch of Indian Independence Movement was borne throughout Maharashtra
• Among the freedom fighters of Maharashtra, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Vinoba Bhave and Dadabhai Naoroji were active nationalists and strong advocates of freedom. It was Bal Gangadhar Tilak who shook the nation with his call for “Swaraj” (self-rule).
• His voice, “Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it”, was echoed all over the country. He was one of the powerful vehicles driving the Boycott Movement and Swadeshi (Nationalist) Movement against the Partition of Bengal in 1905.
• One of the senior leaders of Indian National Congress, Gopal Krishna Gokhale was a political mentor to Mahatma Gandhi. He had forced the British rulers of India to allow the educated Indians in the governing and policy making process.

Contributions from South India:

• Of the 72 original delegates who formed the Indian National Congress in 1885, 22 of them were from Madras Presidency. In fact, the biggest contribution to the formation of Congress came from Bombay and Madras presidencies in the form of organizations such as Madras Mahajana Sabha and Poona Mahajana Sabha.
• The most important freedom movement in pre-Gandhi era was the Indian Home Rule Movement, whose one of the main founders was S. Subramania Iyer. Along with Annie Beasant (who was also based in Madras then) he helped create a strong grassroots organization that was later utilized by the Mahatma. He later gave up his “Sir” title to protest the Jallianwallabagh Massacre.
• The leading newspapers of the freedom fighters – The Hindu  – was started in Madras in 1878 and was a torchbearer for freedom fight. The founders of the paper formed the core of the original Indian National Congress.
• While most of the other revolts were political, an Indian dreamt to break the British Steam Navigation Company’s monopoly over Indian trade and hurt the British where it really hurts – economy. In 1906 V. O. Chidambaram Pillai started the first Indian-owned shipping company. So threatening it was to the British rule that his ships were seized and he was immediately sentenced to rigorous imprisonment. The trade revolt was decisive and gave others the dream of throwing British owned monopolies and eventually the British.
• Srinivasa Iyengar established the Madras Swaraj Party that pushed for immediate self-rule for India (while Indian National Congress was still ambivalent) and cornered all the seats in Madras Presidency.
• Subramanya Bharathi – the legendary poet of TN aroused the Tamils for the cause of freedom and made them restless. By the time Mahatma came to the state, it was already ready to push for freedom.
• The first 3 recipients of Bharat Ratna were 3 Madras folks – C. Rajagopalachari (the last governor general of India), Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (one of the greatest philosophers) and C. V. Raman. All the 3 greatly brought pride to the freedom movement (the former two directly and the latter indirectly by spreading scientific knowledge).
• On the extremist side there were V. V. S. Aiyar, Subramaniya Siva and Vanchinathan who used acts of “violence” in getting rid of British and the former was exiled to French territory of Pondicherry.
• One of the key events in India’s Satyagraha movement was the Vaikom Satyagraha in present Kerala. It helped put an end to untouchability and strengthened the moral base of the freedom struggle.

Contributions from North-East India:

• The Northeast participation in India’s freedom struggle is a tale of valour and courage which started in the 19th century itself with a mass peasant uprising against the British and resistance by the hill people. The political events in the rest of the country culminating in Independence in 1947, found a strong support and response in this region.
• The East India Company’s rule in the region effectively began with the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826 which ended the First Anglo-Burmese War. The victorious British, then, seized control of the region.
• The successive years saw an increasing opposition to British subjugation.
• In Arunachal Pradesh, Matmur Jamoh refused to bow down to the Britishers. He breathed his last in Andaman’s Cellular Jail where he was lodged after killing a British officer.
• Among others who rose against the colonialists was Rani Gaidinliu. A Naga spiritual leader, she became a leading political figure in Manipur.
• She was arrested at the age of 16 and spent 14 years in jail. The title ‘Rani’ or queen was bestowed upon her by former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who met her while she was lodged in prison.
• Rani Gaidinliu has gained national prominence in recent times. Prime Minister Narendra Modi felicitated the freedom fighter in 2015.
• Kanak Lata Barua was Assamese freedom fighter associated with Quit India movement. Shot dead by British in the year 1942 as she held up the National Flag with pride.
• U Tirot Singh – current Meghalaya. Tried to unite tribes and communities and fought with the British for 3 years after which he was imprisoned in Dacca and died.

Conclusion:

Indian national movement and the consequent freedom is a result of the collective work of people from all regions of India. That is what’s so special about our story. From Mahatma in the west to Lajpat Rai in the north to Tagore in the east to Rajaji in the south, people dared to dream and lead. Their contributions created the framework that helped us stay as one nation.