Foreigners Who Fought For India’s Independence 

By Raza Mehdi

Aug 14, 2022

Annie Besant

Besant first visited India in 1893 and later settled here to get involved in the Indian nationalist movement. She established the Indian Home Rule League in 1916, which strengthened the freedom struggle. She was also a leading member of the Indian National Congress.

Image: Wikipedia Commons

Charles Freer Andrews 

Andrews was an English missionary who visited India as an Anglican priest and lecturer in 1904. But his ventures in colonial India led him to advocate for India’s freedom struggle and independence. He also became close friends with Mahatma Gandhi and Tagore.

Satyananda Stokes

He was an American who settled in India and worked incessantly for India’s freedom. The Jallianwala Massacre stunned him so much that he decided to join Indian politics to make an impact. Stokes also became famous for introducing apple cultivation in Himachal Pradesh.

Image: Wikipedia Commons

Sister Nividita

She was an Irish woman who was a follower of Swami Vivekanand, who also gave her the name. She settled in India to contribute to India’s struggle for freedom. She extensively delivered lectures on Indian culture, promoted a feeling of nationalism among the people and played a pioneering role in the Swadeshi Movement.

Image: Wikipedia Commons

Madeleine Slade

She was popularly known as Mirabehn. She became one of Mahatma Gandhi’s confidants and an ardent international defender of India’s independence. Mirabehn worked as a dedicated activist in spreading the spirit of non-violence and was considered an essential participant in the Indian independence movement.

He was born in Scotland and came to India as a British Civil Servant in 1860. During his service in India, Wedderburn was harrowed by the poverty of the Indian peasantry and problems of agricultural credit. He began to focus on the revival of the ancient village system and voiced India’s grievances in the Parliament House.

William Wedderburn

Image: Wikipedia Commons

He was a colonial bishop who came to India for missionary work. However, he became a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi and assisted him in the freedom struggle. After independence, he was selected as an adviser to the tribal affairs of the Northeast. He admired their culture a lot and made the Northeast his second home.

Verrier Elwin

B.G. Horniman

B.G. Horniman was the best-regarded newspaper editor of his era who developed the Bombay Chronicle as one of nationalism’s most effective platforms. The Raj was so fearful of him that he was deported from India and not allowed to return for seven painful years.

Image: Wikipedia Commons