The Role of Indian Languages in the Freedom Movement

Regional languages carried the freedom message to villages, ensuring even the illiterate could understand and join the struggle

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Publications like Kesari (Marathi), Amrita Bazar Patrika (Bengali), and Al-Hilal (Urdu) spread nationalist ideas and challenged British propaganda

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British attempts to silence Indian-language newspapers with censorship laws only strengthened the resolve of writers and editors to fight for free expression

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From Bankim Chandra’s Vande Mataram to Subramania Bharati’s fiery Tamil verses, literature became a rallying cry for unity

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Jatra in Bengal, Tamasha in Maharashtra, and folk dramas in Hindi heartlands spread revolutionary ideas disguised as entertainment

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Leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose addressed masses in their mother tongues to inspire action

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Cheaply printed in local languages, these portable messages carried calls for protests, boycotts, and swadeshi goods to even the remotest corners

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Using Indian languages preserved traditions, making the fight not just political but cultural, protecting heritage from colonial erasure

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Diverse tongues didn’t divide, they became threads in a shared fabric of resistance, proving India’s strength lay in its plurality

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The linguistic spirit of the freedom movement still echoes in India’s democracy, reminding us that our voices are strongest in our own languages

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