Dwindling Torchbearers of Freedom: Only 15 Freedom Fighters Left in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh now has just 15 surviving freedom fighters, and officials fear that if the natural decline due to age continues, none may be alive to salute the national flag on Independence Day 2026.
Among them is 97-year-old Dharam Raj of Ambedkar Nagar, a veteran of the Quit India Movement who once faced prison for his role in the struggle. His story reflects the vanishing generation that fought for India’s independence.
State records show a steep drop in numbers — from 73 freedom fighters in December 2020 to just 15 in August 2025, a loss of 58 in under five years, averaging about 13 deaths annually. At this rate, the last of them could pass away by mid-2026. Currently, 664 dependents of these fighters receive pensions.
In 1942, as a 15-year-old, Dharam Raj secretly carried messages between villages, organised gatherings under the guise of temple meetings, and evaded British patrols. Arrested within weeks, he spent months in jail. He recalls the day independence seemed certain — villagers dancing barefoot in the rain, shouting “Bharat Mata ki Jai!” despite having no wealth, only unity and determination. Today, he says, the tricolour still carries the faces and sacrifices of those who never made it home.
By the Numbers
- Freedom fighters: 73 (Dec 2020) → 15 (Aug 2025)
- Annual decline: ~13
- Projected disappearance: Mid-2026
- Dependents: 664
- Democracy fighters: 5,206 (Dec 2020) → 4,520 (Aug 2025)
- Annual decline: ~171
- Projected disappearance: 2040–45
- Dependents: 1,160 (2024)
Nationwide, the Union Home Ministry reports 13,212 living freedom fighters and 9,778 widows under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana (SSSY) as of August 2025. Telangana leads in survivor numbers, followed by West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu. Since its inception in 1980, the scheme has covered over 1.71 lakh individuals, with Rs 599 crore disbursed in 2024–25.
Uttar Pradesh’s democracy fighters — those who resisted the 1975–77 Emergency — are also ageing rapidly, their ranks shrinking by 171 annually. If the trend holds, they may vanish entirely by the 2040s.
While pensions and benefits remain in place, the reality is that these individuals are living witnesses to India’s fight for freedom and democracy. “They are not just beneficiaries,” says Purnendu Kumar Mishra of the political pension department. “They are the last links to the courage that built our republic.”
This Independence Day, Dharam Raj will stand — as straight as age allows — before the tricolour. “We fought so the next generations could live free,” he says softly. “Freedom was earned, not gifted. And it must be protected, always.”
