75 years later, fight still on for 104-year-old freedom fighter
Updated: Jan 26th, 2024
 |
| Shanta Patel (img: File) |
As we celebrate the 75th year of the Republic of India today, a poignant reality shadows the jubilant festivities - the pitiful state of India’s living legends, the freedom fighters.
A freedom fighter, 104-year-old Shantaben Patel, who fought fearlessly against the British Raj shouting the slogans of ‘Quit India’ is today questioning the meagre government pension of ₹5,000 per month which is not enough to sustain her existence.
This pension, supposedly a tribute to the warriors who fought for the freedom of this nation, is but a paltry acknowledgment.
Residing in Moti Khadki in Bhadran of Anand district, what she faces today is a stark contrast to the valour of her past.
Patel had participated in the ‘Quit India’ Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in 1942. She was arrested and also spent time at the Yerawada Jail in Pune.
 |
| ભારત છોડો ચળવળ / Quit India Movement |
Patel was present in 1938, when Subhas Chandra Bose was elected as the Indian National Congress president in the Haripura session. She stopped Bose’s car after she noticed that there was no tricolour on his car. Only when the flag was put, did she allow him to go.
Patel has two sisters and one brother. Now, she is alone after her two sisters have died and his brother's family has shifted abroad.
“Due to my old age, I need to be cared for by a paid local caretaker. I am the only one in the family and am getting a freedom fighter pension from the government to survive, which is very less,” she says.
The Gujarat Government has been running the Freedom Fighters Pension Scheme, wherein the collected pension under the State Government Scheme to the Freedom Fighters and their dependents, including all allowances, is ₹5,000 per month.
She raised this with the authorities in 2022, when at that time minister of state Rajendra Trivedi and district collectors visited her house.
 |
| When former minister of state Rajendra Trivedi visited her home |
Ketanbhai Patel, Leader of Bhadran said, “She is a freedom fighter who devoted her life to the nation and remained alone with her freedom oath. In fact, she has even offered her house to the Panchayat as a donation for a social cause.”
He added, “She has been worrying about her pension and expecting an increase in the amount for some time now.”
A believer in the power of democracy and that everyone must vote, she waits for her monthly pension to arrive so that she can survive.
Bhadran: writing on the wall
Bhadran is a unique testament in itself when it comes to the freedom movement.
The village has still preserved historical slogans from the ‘Quit India’ movement against British colonial rule on the walls of the village. The graffiti reads, ‘Quit India movement’, ‘Swaraj e maro janma sidh haq che, e lai ne j rahish’ (Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it) , ‘karo ya maro, karenge ya marenge’ (do or die) among many others.
These inscriptions stand as a powerful reminder of India’s fight for independence. The village authorities are committed to safeguarding these historical markings.
