Saraswathy Rajamani at the Secretariat in Chennai on June 20, 2005.
| Photo Credit: V. Ganesan
A few years in the past, in the event you had entered Peter’s Colony in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, you’d have encountered a exceptional woman with many tales to inform and reminisce about — tales of bravery, historical past, and the independence battle India went by way of. This is the story of Saraswathi Rajamani — India’s youngest feminine spy, who received recruited in her teenagers!
It was roughly the Forties when a younger Rajamani, born to an prosperous household in Myanmar, heard about donations being opened to assist the Indian National Army. Already in awe of Subhash Chandra Bose’s fiery speeches and avid patriotism, the younger lady immediately gave up all her jewelry for the identical. The identical caught the eyes of Jawaharlal Nehru and Bose, who assumed it was a mistake attributable to the great amount of wealth that was donated. Upon investigating, they stumbled upon a younger, passionate, but courageous younger woman who stood her floor when requested to take again her donations.
The INA journey
It was not a lot later that she received recruited by Bose into the INA as one in all the first feminine and youngest spies India had at the moment. Disguised as a younger boy named ‘Mani’, Rajamani pursued numerous harmful missions and gathered intelligence from British camps. A preferred anecdote recognized about her was how she had rescued her fellow colleague from the British camp by disguising herself as a dancer and hiding in a tree.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Subhas Chandra Bose and Bulusu Sambamurthi at the Congress working committee assembly in Vithalnagar in February 1938.
| Photo Credit:
HINDU PHOTO ARCHIVES
She, alongside together with her colleagues, wearing male apparel and did espionage on British officers and navy camps. During her work, in the future, one in all her colleagues, Durgamall Gorkha, was caught by the British whereas praying. On this, Neera Arya (popularly referred to as the first feminine INA spy) and Rajamani dressed up as dancers and made the British officers and troopers in the jail unconscious by feeding them intoxicants. They then freed Durgamall Gorkha from jail. During this time, a soldier regained consciousness and shot at them. The bullet fired by him hit Saraswati Rajamani’s leg, which gave her a limp. They saved their lives by hiding in a tree in the forest for 3 days. Thereafter, Saraswati Rajamani was appointed lieutenant, whereas Neera Arya was appointed captain in the Rani Jhansi Regiment of Azad Hind Fauj.
Fading names
These tales of bravery, nonetheless, pale with time. Post-independence, these eminent personalities quickly discovered themselves dwelling in numerous corners of India, main dilapidated life, with some receiving authorities assist whereas others refused or weren’t recognised as time handed by. While speaking about freedom fighters, we have a tendency to maneuver in direction of eminent male figures, and girls who fought towards not simply the British but additionally the patriarchal system they introduced throughout the seas appear to be slowly disappearing from our books and minds.
An identical destiny awaited Rajamani as effectively; with time, she was forgotten and was quickly dwelling purely on the freedom fighter’s pension in a nook of Chennai in Tamil Nadu. It was a lot later that the Tamil Nadu authorities recognised and allotted her higher lodging services in the metropolis, the place she lived till she handed away in 2018 at the age of 91.
In in the present day’s world, regardless of having the world at our fingertips, we frequently fail to acknowledge historical past and the figures who have performed an enormous position in creating a greater society for us to stay in. Saraswathi Rajamani’s story serves as a reminder of many names that have been forgotten over time and didn’t be recognised for his or her bravery.
niranjana.ps@thehindu.co.in
Published – June 17, 2025 03:29 pm IST
