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Bishni Devi Shah

(1902 – 1972) – (Uttarakhand)

Bishni Devi Shah (Aged 73) also known as the ‘Daughter of the Soil,’ was born on October 12, 1902, in Bageshwar. She received education only up to class IV, yet she was associated with both the national freedom movement and the struggle against social evils, and continuously fought for independence. Her love for the nation began at the age of 19 when she sang a national love song.  Bishni Devi began her work in Almora at Nanda Devi temple meetings and promoting indigenous ideas. She was a courageous woman who supported protesters and was revered and worshipped when going to jail, with aarti and flowers.

Bishni Devi Shah led a group of volunteers, including women, on May 25, 1930, to raise the national flag in Almora Municipality. However, they were stopped by Gorkha soldiers. Bishni Devi then formed an organization of women under her leadership, including Durga Devi Pant, Tulsi Devi Rawat, Bhaktidevi Trivedi, and others, to support Kunti Devi Verma, Mangala Devi Pandey, Bhagirathi Devi, Jeevanti Devi, and Revati Devi. Badridutt Pandey and Devidutt Pant joined them, increasing the women’s courage, and eventually, Bishni Devi hoisted the flag.

On October 10, 1930, Bishni Devi’s effectiveness was recognized in the daily Amrit Bazar Patrika. She was described as a woman of indomitable enthusiasm and courage who filled the void of validity in the freedom movement. Bishni Devi was arrested and sent to Almora jail in December 1930 but was undeterred and continued her activism.

She promoted the use of Khadi but found that the Charkha was too expensive, so she reduced its price and taught women how to spin it. She secretly raised funds for agitators, delivered materials, and acted as a correspondent. Bishni Devi was arrested and sent to Fatehgarh Jail on July 7, 1933, for her activism in the national movement. She was sentenced to 9 months and fined 200 rupees, which she refused to pay, leading to an increased punishment.

Despite section 144 being imposed in the Bageshwar fair, she organized an indigenous exhibition in 1934. Bishni Devi continued her work even in the terror of Deputy Commissioner Trail and was elected as a female member of the executive in the Congress meeting. She received a first-class certificate for the exhibition held at Bageshwar.

Bishni Devi hoisted the flag multiple times, including with Vijay Lakshmi Pandit at the grounds of Almora Nanda Devi and at the new Congress building near Motia Dhara in Almora. She participated in the Individual Satyagraha in 1940-41, staging sit-ins at many liquor shops and lighting Holi of foreign clothes. On April 17, 1940, Bishni Devi became the operator of the spinning center that opened near the Nanda Devi temple. She played a crucial role in the Quit India Movement in 1942 and received Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Acharya Narendra Dev upon their release from Almora jail.

Bishni Devi Shah led a mile-long procession, raising slogans and holding the national tricolor flag in the Nanda Devi courtyard on Independence Day, August 15, 1947. Bishni Devi was a low-educated woman born in a normal family. Due to qualities of modesty, tolerance, soft behavior, discipline, etc., she became a successful worker in Congress.

Bishni Devi maintained contact with both local and national leaders and was known for her struggle against social restrictions and orthodoxy. Her signature look was a khaddar dhoti and kurta, with a khaddar bag in one hand and the tricolor flag in the other. Despite being a women’s activist, she received little recognition after independence and had no family to support her. Her final years were marked by financial hardship, and she passed away in 1974.