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From Royal Resistance to Mass Activism: Women's Leadership in the United Provinces during the Indian Freedom Movement
Subject area: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities · Area of research: History
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I12-1720127
Abstract
This paper aims to demonstrate the role of women’s leadership in the United Provinces during the freedom movement (1857-1947). It shows that their role grew from royal and aristocratic resistance to British rulers to mass activism of the pro-freedom movement. The early participation of women in the revolt of 1857 was primarily military and was associated with the names of royal princesses Begum Hazrat Mahal and Rani Lakshmibai. Subaltern women such as Uda Devi and Jhalkari Bai also played a heroic role. However, in the following decades, women’s leadership in the freedom movement changed. The development of the public movement, education, print media, women’s participation in social reforms, and mass struggles under the leadership of Gandhian leaders allowed women from all classes and social statuses to take part in the freedom movement. They performed various functions such as organizing boycotts, rallies, and underground activities. Women’s activism in India’s freedom struggle laid the foundation for their further development in different spheres of public life.
Keywords
Indian Freedom Movement, United Provinces, Uttar Pradesh, Women’s Leadership, Women’s Political Participation, Royal Resistance, Mass Activism, Women’s Empowerment
How to cite this paper
@article{1720127,
author = {Dr. Ajay Kumar, Dr. Havendra Kumar Sharma},
title = {From Royal Resistance to Mass Activism: Women's Leadership in the United Provinces during the Indian Freedom Movement},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {9},
number = {12},
pages = {3861-3865},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1720127.pdf},
abstract = {This paper aims to demonstrate the role of women’s leadership in the United Provinces during the freedom movement (1857-1947). It shows that their role grew from royal and aristocratic resistance to British rulers to mass activism of the pro-freedom movement. The early participation of women in the revolt of 1857 was primarily military and was associated with the names of royal princesses Begum Hazrat Mahal and Rani Lakshmibai. Subaltern women such as Uda Devi and Jhalkari Bai also played a heroic role. However, in the following decades, women’s leadership in the freedom movement changed. The development of the public movement, education, print media, women’s participation in social reforms, and mass struggles under the leadership of Gandhian leaders allowed women from all classes and social statuses to take part in the freedom movement. They performed various functions such as organizing boycotts, rallies, and underground activities. Women’s activism in India’s freedom struggle laid the foundation for their further development in different spheres of public life.},
keywords = {Indian Freedom Movement, United Provinces, Uttar Pradesh, Women’s Leadership, Women’s Political Participation, Royal Resistance, Mass Activism, Women’s Empowerment},
month = {June},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I12-1720127}
}