Durgawati Devi (Aged 92), also known as Durga Bhabhi and remembered as ‘The Agni of India’, remains to this day a thorn in the side of the British police. She held a significant influence on revolutionaries such as Bhagat Singh, Ashfaqulla, and Chandra Shekhar Azad, as well as members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).
At just 11 years old, Durgawati Devi, a Bengali, was married to Professor Bhagwati Charan Vohra, a member of HSRA who had planned to bomb the jail to free Bhagat Singh but tragically died while testing the bomb on the banks of Ravi near Lahore. Durgawati Devi was an active member of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, and she assisted in Bhagat Singh’s escape from Lahore after the Saunders killing in 1928.
Together with Bhagat Singh and Rajguru, Durga posed as a couple and fled to Calcutta, with Rajguru posing as their servant. There, Durga met with several revolutionaries and learned the art of bomb-making. She openly opposed the sentence awarded to Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru, and even sold her ornaments worth Rs. 3,000 to rescue Bhagat Singh and his comrades. In retaliation for their hanging, Durga decided to assassinate Lord Hailey, the ex-Governor of Punjab and a staunch enemy of the revolutionaries. Although the Governor managed to escape, his aides were injured. Durga was subsequently arrested and sentenced to three years of imprisonment.
Durgawati Devi
(1907 – 1999) – (Uttar Pradesh)
Durgawati Devi (Aged 92), also known as Durga Bhabhi and remembered as ‘The Agni of India’, remains to this day a thorn in the side of the British police. She held a significant influence on revolutionaries such as Bhagat Singh, Ashfaqulla, and Chandra Shekhar Azad, as well as members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).
At just 11 years old, Durgawati Devi, a Bengali, was married to Professor Bhagwati Charan Vohra, a member of HSRA who had planned to bomb the jail to free Bhagat Singh but tragically died while testing the bomb on the banks of Ravi near Lahore. Durgawati Devi was an active member of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, and she assisted in Bhagat Singh’s escape from Lahore after the Saunders killing in 1928.
Together with Bhagat Singh and Rajguru, Durga posed as a couple and fled to Calcutta, with Rajguru posing as their servant. There, Durga met with several revolutionaries and learned the art of bomb-making. She openly opposed the sentence awarded to Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru, and even sold her ornaments worth Rs. 3,000 to rescue Bhagat Singh and his comrades. In retaliation for their hanging, Durga decided to assassinate Lord Hailey, the ex-Governor of Punjab and a staunch enemy of the revolutionaries. Although the Governor managed to escape, his aides were injured. Durga was subsequently arrested and sentenced to three years of imprisonment.
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