Aruna Asaf Ali

Born in 1906 at Kalka in Haryana, Aruna Asaf Ali is a prominent face among Indian freedom fighters. Her marriage with the famous freedom fighter Asaf Ali brought her in the middle of the freedom struggle. She participated in the Salt Satyagraha and was arrested and imprisoned. Her hunger strike against the treatment to political prisoners when she was in Tihar Jail in 1932 brought an improvement in the conditions of the political prisoners.

She is most remembered for her participation in the Quit India movement. When the British, jailed all the leaders of freedom movement to crush the Quit India Movement, Aruna smashed the plan by furling the flag.

She encouraged the freedom fighters and students through the Inquilab, a monthly magazine. After Independence, she continued in social work and was the mayor of Delhi. The Indian nation respected her by its highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, posthumously. She breathed her last on July 29, 1996.