In this guide
Uttar Pradesh's contribution to India's freedom struggle is measured not only in events — Meerut, Lucknow, Chauri Chaura, Kakori, Ballia — but in people. This guide gathers the leaders most often asked about in UPPSC, grouped by phase, so that you can revise them quickly and use them as examples in GS V answers and the Essay.
1857
| Leader | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Mangal Pandey | Sepoy from Ballia (Nagwa); attacked officers at Barrackpore (29 March 1857); hanged |
| Begum Hazrat Mahal | Led the revolt in Lucknow; crowned her son Birjis Qadr; died in exile in Nepal |
| Rani Lakshmibai | Defended Jhansi; died fighting near Gwalior (1858) |
| Jhalkari Bai | A woman soldier in Rani Lakshmibai's army, remembered for impersonating the Rani to allow her escape (as per tradition) |
| Uda Devi | A Pasi woman who fought at Sikandar Bagh, Lucknow, in 1857, reportedly shooting from a tree; remembered as a Dalit heroine of 1857 |
| Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah | Leader in Faizabad and Awadh |
| Nanasaheb and Tatya Tope | Led the revolt at Kanpur |
| Khan Bahadur Khan | Led the revolt in Bareilly |
Early nationalism and the Congress era
| Leader | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Madan Mohan Malaviya | Four-time Congress president; founded BHU (1916); journalist (Hindustan, The Leader); Bharat Ratna (2015, posthumous) |
| Motilal Nehru | Lawyer; Swaraj Party (with C. R. Das); Nehru Report (1928); donated the original Anand Bhawan to the Congress in 1930 (renamed Swaraj Bhawan) |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | Congress president (Lahore 1929 — Purna Swaraj); first Prime Minister |
| Govind Ballabh Pant | Premier of UP (1937); first Chief Minister; Union Home Minister; Bharat Ratna (1957) |
| Purushottam Das Tandon | Champion of Hindi; Congress president (1950); called "Rajarshi"; Bharat Ratna (1961) |
| Lal Bahadur Shastri | Born in Mughalsarai (now Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar); freedom fighter; later PM ("Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan"); Bharat Ratna (1966, posthumous) |
| Acharya Narendra Dev | Socialist leader; co-founder of the Congress Socialist Party; educationist (Kashi Vidyapith) |
| Rafi Ahmed Kidwai | Congress leader; later Union minister |
| Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi | Editor of Pratap (Kanpur); died trying to stop communal riots (1931) |
Women leaders
| Leader | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit | First woman cabinet minister in pre-independence India (UP, 1937); later President of the UN General Assembly (1953) |
| Sucheta Kripalani | Underground organiser in 1942; India's first woman Chief Minister (UP, 1963) |
| Kamala Nehru | Active in Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience in Allahabad |
| Sarojini Naidu | Presided over the Kanpur Congress (1925); first woman Governor of an Indian state (United Provinces, 1947) |
Revolutionaries
| Leader | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Ram Prasad Bismil | HRA; Kakori (1925); hanged at Gorakhpur (1927) |
| Ashfaqulla Khan | Kakori; hanged at Faizabad (1927); symbol of Hindu–Muslim unity |
| Rajendra Lahiri and Roshan Singh | Kakori martyrs |
| Chandrashekhar Azad | HSRA leader; died in Alfred Park, Allahabad (1931) |
| Genda Lal Dixit | Mainpuri conspiracy (1918) |
Peasant and local leaders
| Leader | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Baba Ramchandra | Awadh Kisan Sabha (1920) |
| Madari Pasi | Eka movement (1921–22) |
| Chittu Pandey | Parallel government in Ballia (1942) |
Using these leaders in answers
| Theme | Leaders to cite |
|---|---|
| Women's leadership | Begum Hazrat Mahal, Rani Lakshmibai, Uda Devi, Sucheta Kripalani |
| Communal harmony | Bismil and Ashfaqulla; Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi |
| Education and institution-building | Malaviya (BHU); Narendra Dev |
| Dalit and marginalised participation | Uda Devi; Madari Pasi |
| Peasant struggles | Baba Ramchandra; Chittu Pandey |
Practice
Prelims-style:
- Who was India's first woman Chief Minister?
- Who fought at Sikandar Bagh in 1857 and is remembered as a Dalit heroine?
- Which newspaper did Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi edit?
- Who was called "Rajarshi"?
- Who was the first woman Governor in India, and of which province?
Mains-style:
- "The freedom struggle in UP drew leaders from every section of society." Discuss.
- Examine the contribution of women from Uttar Pradesh to the freedom struggle.
A note on dates and numbers. Exam patterns, vacancies and schedules change from year to year. Always confirm the current details in the latest notification on the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission website .
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