UPPCS Pre Revision #10: UP Freedom Fighters & Personalities

Uttar Pradesh played a central role in India’s freedom struggle, from the Revolt of 1857 to the revolutionary activities of the Kakori group, Gandhian mass movements, peasant uprisings and the Quit India Movement.

For UPPCS Prelims, focus on four dimensions: personality–district associations, organisations, movements and important dates. Also distinguish a person’s birthplace from the place where they worked, fought or were executed.

1. Timeline of the freedom struggle in Uttar Pradesh

2. Revolt of 1857: important UP personalities

The revolt combined military rebellion with resistance by rulers, taluqdars, peasants and local communities. Its causes included military grievances, annexation policies, land-related discontent and fears of interference with religious and social practices.

3. National leaders associated with Uttar Pradesh

Madan Mohan Malaviya (1861–1946)

Known as Mahamana, Malaviya was an educationist, lawyer, journalist and nationalist.

• Principal founder and organiser of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), established in 1916.
• Served as President of the Indian National Congress four times: 1909, 1918, 1932 and 1933.
• Promoted national education, public service and constitutional reform.
• Closely associated with Varanasi and the development of BHU.

Motilal Nehru (1861–1931)

A leading lawyer and Congress politician associated with Allahabad (Prayagraj).

• Congress president in 1919 and 1928.
• Chaired the committee associated with the Nehru Report of 1928.
• Co-founded the Swaraj Party with C.R. Das in 1923.
• Anand Bhawan and Swaraj Bhawan in Allahabad became important centres of nationalist activity.

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964)

Born in Allahabad on 14 November 1889, Nehru became a leading figure in the national movement.

• Participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• Worked among peasants in the United Provinces.
• Took part in protests against the Simon Commission.
• Presided over the Lahore Congress of 1929, where Purna Swaraj was adopted.
• Participated in Civil Disobedience and Quit India activities and was repeatedly imprisoned.
• Became India’s first Prime Minister in 1947.

Prelims distinction: Motilal Nehru is associated with the Nehru Report; Jawaharlal Nehru presided over the Lahore Congress of 1929.

4. Revolutionary nationalism and the Kakori group

The revolutionary movement was particularly active in Shahjahanpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad and Varanasi.

Ram Prasad Bismil (1897–1927)

Born in Shahjahanpur, Bismil was a revolutionary, writer and poet.

• Associated with the Mainpuri Conspiracy of 1918.
• Helped establish the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA).
• Participated in the Kakori Train Action on 9 August 1925.
• Popularised patriotic revolutionary poetry.
• Executed at Gorakhpur Jail on 19 December 1927.

Ashfaqulla Khan (1900–1927)

Born in Shahjahanpur, Ashfaqulla Khan worked with Bismil and other HRA revolutionaries. He participated in the Kakori action and was executed at Faizabad Jail on 19 December 1927. His partnership with Bismil is an important example of interfaith cooperation within the revolutionary movement.

Thakur Roshan Singh (1892–1927)

Associated with the revolutionary movement and the Kakori case, Roshan Singh was executed at Allahabad on 19 December 1927. He was convicted despite not being present on the train during the action.

Rajendra Nath Lahiri (1901–1927)

A member of the revolutionary movement, Lahiri was executed at Gonda Jail on 17 December 1927, two days before the other three principal Kakori martyrs.

Kakori Train Action: facts at a glance

5. Other revolutionaries and nationalist journalists

Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi (1890–1931)

Vidyarthi used journalism to challenge colonial repression and highlight social injustice.

• Edited the Hindi newspaper Pratap.
• Supported nationalist activity and was imprisoned for his writings.
• Tried to protect people during communal violence in Kanpur.
• Died on 25 March 1931.

Chandrashekhar Azad

Azad was born in Bhavra, present-day Madhya Pradesh, but became closely associated with revolutionary activity in Uttar Pradesh. He worked with the HRA and later the HSRA. He died at Alfred Park in Allahabad on 27 February 1931.

Exam trap: Azad’s birthplace was outside UP; Allahabad was the site of his death.

6. Peasant movements in Uttar Pradesh

Agrarian grievances—high rents, revenue demands, tenancy insecurity and landlord exploitation—were important in the nationalist period. Peasant movements sometimes worked with Congress organisations but also developed independent local leadership.

Baba Ramchandra and the Awadh Kisan movement

Baba Ramchandra, born Shridhar Balwant Jodhpurkar, became a major organiser of peasants in Awadh.

• Mobilised cultivators against high rents and oppressive practices.
• Helped organise meetings and peasant associations.
• Connected agrarian demands with the broader nationalist movement.
• Worked alongside local peasant leaders and, at different stages, Congress figures including Jawaharlal Nehru.

The Awadh Kisan Sabha developed in 1920.

Madari Pasi and the Eka movement

The Eka movement developed in parts of Hardoi, Sitapur and neighbouring areas during 1921–22.

Its grievances included excessive rents, landlord exploitation and agrarian insecurity. Madari Pasi became one of its best-known leaders.

Distinction: The Awadh Kisan movement and the Eka movement were related to agrarian unrest but were not the same organisation or campaign.

7. Gandhian mass movements in UP

Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22)

The movement called for the boycott of colonial institutions, titles and foreign goods. UP saw participation by students, lawyers, peasants, urban workers and Congress volunteers.

Chauri Chaura (4 February 1922)

At Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district, a protest escalated into violence after police fired on demonstrators. The crowd attacked and burned a police station, killing policemen inside.

• Date: 4 February 1922.
• Location: Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur district.
• Consequence: Gandhi suspended the Non-Cooperation Movement on 12 February 1922.

Civil Disobedience Movement (1930–34)

The movement involved defiance of selected colonial laws, boycotts, demonstrations and tax resistance. In UP, Congress workers and local volunteers organised protests, while peasant grievances remained an important part of the political context.

Quit India Movement (1942)

Following the demand for an end to British rule in August 1942, protests spread through UP. Some areas witnessed strikes, attacks on colonial administrative infrastructure and attempts to establish alternative local authority.

Ballia: Chittu Pandey

Chittu Pandey, known as the Sher-e-Ballia, became a prominent leader of the 1942 uprising. Protesters briefly challenged British district authority and established a form of parallel administration before British forces reasserted control.

Doharia firing

On 23 August 1942, firing on protesters at Doharia in present-day Gorakhpur district became an important local episode of the Quit India Movement.

UPPCS association: Ballia–Chittu Pandey–parallel government–Quit India Movement.

8. Women freedom fighters associated with UP

9. Congress sessions and important political developments

10. District-wise freedom struggle associations

Note: A leader’s birthplace, area of activity and place of execution can be different. Read the exact wording of any matching question carefully.

11. Important dates and revolutionary executions

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Hemant Bhatt

Chief Mentor at Oracle IAS

Hemant Bhatt is a B. Tech from Pantnagar University and has studied Social Sciences at SciencesPo, Paris. He teaches at Oracle IAS, Dehradun. He has given 5 UPSC mains back to back along with 2 interviews.
He is a bibliophile,accomplished writer and a fitness enthusiast.

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