UNSUNG HEROINES OF INA:
SARASWATHY RAJAMANI & SHUNMUGATHTHAI
INTRODUCTION
The
history of freedom struggle narrated with the heroic deeds of great men with
little reference about prominent women fighters born with silver spoon or
belongs to ruling community or rich academic background. Thousands of women freedoms fighter’s contribution
to India were ignored or insignificant in the history of Tamil Nadu during the Indian
National Movement. These unsung heroines
deed should be included to fill the lapse in writing the history of Tamil Nadu
to regain its glory in the past. Many women
participants who were took active participation without any fear to face the
bullet with dare while fought for the freedom of India. One among the unsung heroine was Rajamani the
direct contributor of INA and also refer two more indirect participants of INA
and Indian Freedom Struggle.
The entire history of the freedom movement
is replete with the saga of bravery, sacrifice, military intelligence wing of
the Indian National Army and political sagacity of not only great women of the
country. Many prominent women played a
vital leading role in the Indian Freedom Movement. Many thousands of women
directly or indirectly support freedom struggle by providing their wealth and
demanding justice and led many agitations by raise their fist and take to the
streets demanding freedom from British.
When I was searched for women participants from Southern India, the
researcher has not found not exceeding ten freedom fighters in the history of
Tamil Nadu. Moreover, When Subhash
Chandra Bose made a call for joining INA, many young women sent their spouse
for fought for Indian freedom by joining INA.
One among them was Mrs.Shunmugaththai, who was the researcher’s own
aunty. As a young uneducated women with
one born child and another elder son not complete the age of 5, at the age of
21 she was ready to respond another call
of her caste leader Pasumpon
Muthuramalinga Thevar and prepared her mind and soul to send her spouse to join INA. After He joined INA, he took a
group photos and sent to family members along with a letter worth mentioning
that INA is going to leave the country and marching towards Burma, If I am
alive I will back to home and see you all after World War II, otherwise accept
that I was no more and I sacrificed my life for India. As per his letter,
Unfortunately, he didn’t return home after World War II. The only evidence that
her husband in INA was some black and white photos with my father Mr. M. Jesudoss, took before leaving India, Later
which was the only evidence and main source of her to claim meagre freedom
fighter’s family Pension. In the meantime, the whole burden left on My
father M. Jesudoss’s shoulder as an elder boy of the family. As soon as he has completed III Form, and he
joined British Force as a trainee in
Madras Boys Regiment, fortunately, by the end of his training period World War II came to an
end. Fate played vital role, sister’s
husband in INA and M.Jesudoss in British during Indian Freedom Struggle. When My father Jesudoss stood for roll call,
one British official came an asked him that anyone of your relative in INA, as a
young innocent boy answered that yes, my sister’s husband Sevaththa Pandian, by
hearing the name, that British official give a Great Salute to my father and
described his uncle’s heroic deed as a forceful officer in INA. After a year long hard military training he
was deputed as a draws man in the
Department of Engineering, he earn Rs. 82/- as his salary which is almost equal
to British Official said by Mr. Jesudoss.
When the two nation theory announced all religious people fought each
other, he was deputed as a wireless operator on the day of implementing two
nation theory and declared India’s Independence.[1] He often recollected that
I never forgot the day because everyone in Lahore to Rawalpindi, Muslims move
from India to Pakistan and Hindus from Pakistan to India, migrants suffered with
great grieve and sorrow due to loss of men and material and a man was killed
and through him on railway station nakedly with wounds. I can’t forget that scene in my life he
said. Further, he added that untold
miseries happed on the day, all houses kept two kind of water pot with
religious mark on it in Punjab. When he
described to me, I don’t think that these were all the source material to write
history due to my ignorance. Even, he
don’t keep his shooting medal, he melted it for anklet making for his sister’s
daughter. We never think the value of
the medals who won for his service. At
present, World War Medal and Independence Medal in the same cover that the
British officials send to his native address and preserve it as old article. On the day of declaration of India’s
Independence, he and truck driver alone went to Peshawar to brought back Indian
Army Official safely to India within a day.[2] At that juncture, when the
truck enter into India – Pakistan Border, one young Punjabi flat over Gelatins
bombs hide underneath and saved his truck and army official safely. Often,
he remained this incident and said that the martyrdom Punjabi’s wife got only a medal
and very meagre family pension, it’s no way equal to his sacrifice. Today
I am lived because of his sacrifice, otherwise I was no more on the day itself.
Punjabi are well known for patriots and martyrdom. In such a way many lakhs of Indians lost their
life, happiness and think only about nation and ready for sacrifice his soul
for Nation building. Further
researcher’s father narrated his experience in army and His sister’s husband
never turn back home. Ultimately, researcher’s
aunty Mrs, Shunmugathai of Gurukkal Patti, accepted the reality that
her husband was a martyrdom for India and wore white saree as a symbol of
widowhood and other auspicious mark of removing tilak and flowers at the age of
16 years old. Like her thousands of
Indian uneducated ladies lost their husband by sending to INA. Now – a -days, the women who were lost their
husband in INA received meagre pension as recognized their service for the
nation.[3] Here, the sacrifice of a woman was not even
respected by their own family and social taboo prevent them to access public
areas, which was see them as inauspicious symbols, throughout their life due to
widowhood, which is increasing their mental agony of the affected
woman. These pitiable women’s sacrifice their life and children lost their
father, sister lost their brother, parents lost their son and total devastation of their absence in the
family. So many of such women were not
inclusive in writing history of Tamil Nadu. Saraswathi Rajamani was a veteran
of the Indian National Army (INA). She is well known for her work in the
military intelligence wing of the army.[4]
OBJECTIVES
This research
helps the historians to understand the role of women in freedom struggle in
India. To high light the contribution of
woman hailed from Tamil Nadu in India’s freedom struggle. To understand the sacrifice of women freedom
fighters to attain Independence. The readers enable to appreciate the role of
Saraswathi Rajamani who was worked as an efficient spy in INA. To enable the historians to appreciate women
who went through extraordinary struggles to make the dream of Independence a
reality. To stir the patriotic fervor among the public by highlighting the role
of women in Indian freedom struggle and made them as a courageous woman. Rajamani
was born in Rangoon, Burma (present day Myanmar) in 1927. Her forefathers were
belong to Thanjavur and settled in Burma.
Her father owned a gold mine and
was one of the richest Indians in Rangoon.[5] Her family was a staunch
supporter of the Indian Freedom Movement and also financially supported Indian
National Movement.
HISTORIC
INCIDENT CHANGED RAJAMANI’S LIFE
Rajamani's life
changed when she was barely 10 years old. When, Mahatma Gandhi visited their
palatial home in Rangoon, the entire family played host to the Mahatma, while Rajamani was practicing rifle shooting in
their garden. Family members bought her from Garder, Gandhiji asked her why she needed a gun.
"To shoot down the Britishers of course," replied the young girl. Gandhiji told her that
satyagraha was the only way to gain freedom. She said no, I want to shoot them
because the Britishers loot us so shot down them to get freedom of India.
DONAR
OF INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY LIVES IN PENURY
At the age of 83,
Saraswathy Rajamani lives in a one-room portion in a dilapidated house opposite
the Royapettah police station, where several photographs of Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose adorn the cramped room's walls.
In one corner is an old sewing machine, which she used for stitching
cloth she collected from tailoring shop and used waste cloth, she stitched and
handed over to the needy or to the orphan homes. On a small narrow table is a
radio — her only companion — gifted to her by a friend in the early 1960s. It
is obvious, Ms. Rajamani is struggling to meet both ends meet. Not surprising,
as she lives off the freedom fighters pension given by the Government.
A
veteran of the Indian National Army (INA), Rajamani is too proud to admit that
she lives in penury. The tragedy is that she was born in a rich gold miner's
family that was a staunch supporter of the Indian freedom movement, in Rangoon
in Burma (now Myanmar) and it gave all their wealth for the freedom struggle.[7] C.M. Santhanam, another
INA member, who even now calls on Rajamani regularly, says that some of the
members had petitioned successive governments to allot a small flat for the old
lady, but to no avail.
CONTRIBUTION
OF SARASWATHY IN INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY
Netaji's visit to Rangoon at the height of the
World War II to collect funds for the INA and recruit volunteers made a lasting
impact on her. As a 16-year-old young girl, inspired by Nethaji Subhash Chandra
Bose’s fiery speech at Rangoon, she donated all her gold and diamond jewelry to
the INA. Nethaji Realizing that the young girl might have
donated the jewelry innocently, Nethaji
enquired about the donor and visited her house to return it. However,
Rajamani was adamant and said that all jewels belongs to her and not to my
father, so Rajamani asked Nethaji to
uses it for the army. Nethaji was highly impressed by her determination, he
christened her Saraswathi. At this
juncture, She expressed her desire to join the INA. Netaji
said that Lakshmi [wealth] can comes but
Saraswati that need of an hour for
INA and recruited her in the military intelligence
wing and named her “Saraswathy.”
APPOINTED
AS SPY
In 1942, Rajamani was recruited to the
Rani of Jhansi regiment of the INA and was part of the army’s military
intelligence wing. Rajamani says that
she and four other girls in the unit masqueraded as men for almost two years to
gather intelligence on British agents. While
posing as a boy, her name was Mani. As
covert agents behind enemy lines, they were responsible for intercepting
government orders and military intelligence from the British officers and
handing these over to INA. Once, one of
her colleagues was caught by the British troops.
To rescue her, Rajamani infiltrated the
British camp dressed as a dancer. She drugged the British officers who were
in-charge and freed her colleague. Ms. Saraswathi, during her four-year stint
in the INA from 1942, played an active part in operations in the Indo-Burma
theatre of war. A member of the
intelligence wing, she was tasked with getting vital information from behind
enemy lines at great personal risk.
Recalling her experiences in the Eastern
sector with pride and patriotic fervor, Ms. Sarawathi Rajamani said among the
unforgettable episodes of those years was the successful rescue of a fellow INA
spy abducted by the British troops.
Along with some of her colleagues, they had secured their comrade's
release after tranquilising the British unit. However, while fleeing from the
enemy camp, she was shot and wounded.[10] While they were escaping, Rajamani was shot
on the right leg by a British guard but she still managed to avoid
capture. Her work in the army ended when
Netaji disbanded the INA after World War II. For four years from 1942, when she
was recruited into the Rani of Jhansi regiment in Burma where she was born and
raised, Saraswathi was a member of the INA’s intelligence wing and joined
operations in the Indo-Burma theatre of war.
BULLET
WOUND
She recalls how one of the girls who
was caught by the British, she dressed herself as a dancing girl, drugged the
officers and rescued her colleague. She even suffered a bullet wound in her
right leg. Still bleeding as she ran, Rajamani and her friend climbed up a tree,
where they camped for 3 days
while the British carried out their search operation. The bullet wound left her with a permanent
limp, but Rajamani was proud of it. She was given a medal by the Japanese Emperor
himself, along with the rank of Lieutenant in INA’s Rani of Jhansi
Brigade.
RETURNED
TO TAMIL NADU & SETTLED IN CHENNAI
When the INA was disbanded after the British
won the war, Saraswathy of Rani of Jhansi Regiment and the other INA members returned to India
on Netaji's instructions. After World
War II, Rajamani’s family gave away all their wealth, including the gold mine,
and returned to India. In 2005, a newspaper reported that Saraswathi Rajamani
was living in Chennai and although sustained by freedom fighters pension, she
was struggling to make both ends meet.
PRECIOUS
POSSESSIONS OF THE DONOR OF INA
Eighty-three-year-old Saraswathi proudly carries a bullet wound ? a
reminder of her time in the INA. The
wound, a couple of certificates and at least 10 portraits of Netaji that hang
from the walls of a dingy tiled-roof room that she calls home are among her
most precious possessions. So are the
INA khakis and cap that she donned before limping to Jayalalithaa’s secretariat
to receive a dole.
AN
APPEAL TO TAMIL NADU GOVERNMENT[11]
About 60 years later, ailing, alone
and with no money, Saraswathi turned to the Tamil Nadu Government for help. Ms.
Sarawathi Rajamani has appealed to the Chief Minister to allot the flat in
Royapettah, an area familiar to her, instead of Anna Nagar. Further she stated
that “Four times, I have suffered heart attacks and I do not know how long I
can go on.” In a pre-election year,
Jayalalithaa was quick to respond. When Chief Minister Jayalalithaa invited
Indian National Army (INA) veteran Saraswathy Rajamani to the Secretariat, she
wanted to give her financial assistance and a home to call her own.
MUCH
GIVER AS A RECIPIENT
At the Secretariat, the 83-year-old Ms. Saraswathy had something to
present to the Chief Minister: a memento with a portrait of Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose inscribed on it. Clad in
INA khaki, Ms. Saraswathi greeted the Chief Minister with a salute and a
"Jai Hind!" Hon’ble Chief
Minister of Tamil Nadu Ms. Jayalalithaa
handed over a cheque for Rs 5 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief
Fund and the Keys of a Tamil Nadu Housing Board flat where she can live free of
rent. The money will be deposited with
the Tamil Nadu Power Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation, out of
which Saraswathi can draw a monthly interest of Rs 2,917 all her life. During the devastation tsunami of 2006, she
also donated her meagre monthly pension as
a freedom fighter to relief fund to
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
Rajamani answer to press people that “I
am not able to speak much these days,” said Saraswathi alias Rajamani, whose
parents belonged to Thanjavur. But she recalled with pride the rescue of a
“fellow INA spy” abducted by British troops. It was “after tranquillising that
British unit, we secured our comrade’s release,” she says. She was shot at and
wounded as she fled the enemy camp.
Overwhelmed with joy, the INA veteran thanked Ms. Jayalalithaa: "I
am immensely pleased as the Chief Minister has quickly responded to my appeal
for assistance. I wish her a long life so that she will continue to extend a
helping hand to the poor and the needy." Saraswathi, who was one of about 60 INA veterans in the city, only
three of whom are women. “The chief minister told me she would also
arrange for medical assistance for me, but I politely replied that it may not
be necessary.”
CONTRIBUION
TO NATIONAL MUSEUM
She has donated
insignia to the INA gallery of the Netaji Subhash Birth place National Museum
in Cuttack, Odisha. Netaji Subhash Birth
place National Museum (NSBNM) in Cuttack would have an exclusive gallery to
display the Indian National Army (INA) memorabilia, including photos, portraits
and regalia of its soldiers. The gallery is expected to be completed and
opened to public on the 112th Birth Anniversary of Netaji on January 23, 2008. "We are going to add three new galleries
to the existing eight of the double-storied museum which would be inaugurated on the birth
anniversary of the legendary leader. Of these, one gallery would be exclusively
dedicated to INA memorabilia," museum Director Chandrabhanu Patel said. Further
he stated that, steps have already been taken to collect information and
artefacts relating to INA soldiers and persons associated with it- both dead
and alive. "We hope we would have
enough materials of interest to display in the gallery," he added. Meanwhile, a beginning has already been made
in this direction when a Delhi-based artist Md Aanwar donated a portrait of
Captain Laxmi Panda which would adore the gallery, sources said. India Laxmi
was the youngest woman soldier of INA and died at the age of 83. The museum now houses several INA insignia
which have been obtained from INA secretary S.Yadav of Delhi. Efforts are on to
contact the living INA associates to collect some more artefacts from them to
be displayed in the museum, the sources said.
Among the main displays is an INA regalia sword which was handed over to
Captain D Dasan of Chennai by Netaji himself in 1944. Dasan, now president of Chennai-based Netaji
Subash Chandra Bose Memorial National Welfare Foundation, during his visit to
the state in 2004 had donated the four-feet long sword to Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik for display at the museum. Besides,
a pair of INA uniforms donated by Lt R Laxmi devi Naidu and other insignia
donated by INA associates Capt C. M
Santnam of Tokyo regiment and Capt R Saraswati Rajamani of Burma regiment are
at the museum.
The researcher
conclude that remember unsung heroines of each village should bring in the lime
light of writing real history of Tamil Nadu.
India finally got its hard-won independence; the courage and
contributions of many little-known freedom fighters have faded away from public
memory. Many heroines, who walked
shoulder to shoulder with the men during trying times, still remain in the
shadows, their faces forgotten and their bravery unsung. One such unacknowledged heroine is a woman
few Indians know about, a woman who live a life of intrigue and danger to help
her nation fight colonial rule. Saraswathi
Rajamani was not interested in Gandhiji’s thought of Ahimsa. Whereas she was
deeply impressed with Subhash Chandra Bose’s fiery speech and removed all her
expensive gold and diamond jewelry and donated it to the Indian National
Movement and both inspired each other.
Ultimately INA got a Saraswathi, a bold spy with four of her friends as
spies in INA’s intelligence wing.
However, the researcher can’t find the names of her friends joined in
INA. Further, this research concentrate
to identify unsung heroines of Tamil Nadu,
woman whose exceptional bravery and intelligence deserves to be
recognized and respected by everyone and documented to fill the gap in
rewriting history of Tamil Nadu.
[1] Military
records of Mr. M. Jesudoss, Moovirunthali Village, Sankarankoil Taluk,
[2]
Medals of Mr. M. Jesudoss, Madras Regiment. 15th August, 1947.
[3]
Information gathered from Mrs. Shunmugathai’s Son Mr. Chinnadurai, Gurukkal
Patti, 1990.
[4]
Mrs. Saraswathi acted in a short film titled “Voice of an Independent
Indian”which is available on You Tube.
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