P. Sainath

large_01-1000057102-PS-The_humble_heroism_of_Bhabani_Mahato_passes.jpg

medium_01-1000057102-PS-The_humble_heroism_of_Bhabani_Mahato_passes.jpg

small_01-1000057102-PS-The_humble_heroism_of_Bhabani_Mahato_passes.jpg

thumbnail_01-1000057102-PS-The_humble_heroism_of_Bhabani_Mahato_passes.jpg

01-1000057102-PS-The_humble_heroism_of_Bhabani_Mahato_passes.jpg

She was 104 when we met her, emerging from her room,
impatiently shaking off any hands seeking to assist her. Other than leaning on
her handstick, Bhabani Mahato neither sought nor accepted assistance from
anybody. Even at that age, she walked, stood, and sat on her own steam. If
anything, generations of her vast joint family in Chepua village of West Bengal’s
Purulia district depended mostly on this farmer and homemaker who was central
to their lives and future.



Freedom fighter Bhabani Mahato passed away peacefully
in her sleep soon after midnight of August 29-30, 2024. She was 106 years old. With
her passing, only four of the 16 freedom fighters in my book The Last
Heroes: Foot Soldiers of Indian Freedom (Penguin November 2022) now
remain alive. In one sense, Bhabani was exceptional even among the many
extraordinary freedom fighters whose interviews are lodged in PARI’s <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/albums/freedom-fighters/">Freedom Fighters Gallery</a>. She
was the only one who, for hours in our conversation, strongly denied having had
a role in that epic struggle. “What
did I have to do with that, or anything like that?” she asked us in March 2022 when we first met her. Read:  <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/when-bhabani-mahato-fed-the-revolution/">When
Bhabani Mahato fed the revolution</a>

Well, she
actually had plenty to do with it, even more than her illustrious husband –
recognised freedom fighter Baidyanath Mahato, who had died 20 years before our
visit to her home in Man Bazar block. My colleague Smita Khator and I were
crestfallen when she strongly denied being a freedom fighter. And it took us
hours to figure out why.



She was being
honest to the understanding of ‘freedom fighter’ as defined in the Swatantra Sainik
Samman Yojana scheme of 1980. A definition that largely excluded women and
their actions in the anti-colonial struggle; that largely centred around jail
time – thereby also excluding huge chunks of the revolutionary underground.
Worse, by asking those in the underground ‘proof’ of their being proclaimed
offenders – it was seeking certification of India’s freedom heroes from the
British Raj!



When we came at
it differently, discussed it differently, we were stunned by the sheer
magnificence of Bhabani’s sacrifice. The risks she took in feeding fugitive
revolutionaries hiding in Purulia’s jungles. Cooking for and feeding often 20
or more of them – apart from doing that at the same time for a family of over
25 persons. Also, managing to grow that food in 1942-43 at the height of the
Bengal Famine. What an incredibly great and risky contribution to India’s
struggle for Independence!



We will miss
your magic Bhabani di.

Courtesy: the Mahato family

Pranab Kumar Mahato

The humble heroism of Bhabani Mahato passes

پرولیا کی مجاہدہ آزادی بھوانی مہتو کا انتقال

కడచిపోయిన భవానీ మహతో వినయపూర్వక వీరత్వం

பபானி மஹதோவின் பணிவான வீரம் மறைந்தது

ਅਲਵਿਦਾ ਭਵਾਨੀ ਮਾਹਾਤੋ!

ବିନମ୍ର ବୀରତ୍ୱ ଭବାନୀ ମାହାତୋଙ୍କ ପରଲୋକ

'क्रांतीची चूल' भबानी महातो काळाच्या पडद्याआड

ഭബാനി മഹാതോ എന്ന വിനയാന്വിതയായ വീരനായിക വിടവാങ്ങുന്നു

ಮುಗಿದು ಹೋದ ಭವಾನಿ ಮಹತೋ ಅವರ ವಿನಮ್ರ ಹೀರೋಗಿರಿ

पुरुलिया के क्रांतिकारियों की अन्नपूर्णा भवानी महतो का निधन

ભવાની માહાતોની વિન્રમ વીરતાની વિદાય

क्रांतिकारी मन के महतारी भबानी महतो दुनिया ले होगे बिदा

आजादी के बरियार सिपाही, भवानी महतो के बिदा!

মুক্তিযুঁজাৰু ভৱানী মাহাতোৰ দেহাৱসান

নিরহঙ্কার বীরত্বে সমুজ্জ্বল এক জীবন রেখে গেলেন ভবানী মাহাতো

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


चला, पारीची एक सफर करूया

पारीवर तुमचं मनापासून स्वागत

आमच्या वेबसाइटवरील सर्व मजकूर सर्वांसाठी मोफत आहे आणि तो कायम तसाच राहील. जर तुम्हाला आमचं काम आवडत असेल तर तुमचा वेळ द्या आणि आमच्यासाठी काम करा. या कामासाठी निधी गोळा करायलाही मदत करा.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

The humble heroism of Bhabani Mahato passes

A freedom fighter from West Bengal's Puruliya district, Bhabani Mahato was a force to reckon with in our struggle for freedom. She passed away on August 30, 2024

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit