From defiant acts of resistance to forgotten revolutions, India’s road to freedom was never a single story — it was the culmination of many struggles, ruptures, and movements. On this Independence Day, we revisit seven Homegrown stories that reveal the many ways people challenged the Empire, reimagined the nation, and shaped the India we know today.

In the early months of 1857, just before the Great Rebellion in India, a curious phenomenon swept through the villages of North and Central India. Plain, unmarked chapatis appeared at doorsteps, in police stations, and in the hands of village watchmen. Recipients, often without question, would bake fresh batches and pass them on to neighboring villages. Soon, thousands of these flatbreads circulated nightly across hundreds of miles, outpacing the British mail system and alarming colonial officials. Regardless of the original intent, the chapatis served as an ominous precursor to the rebellion that erupted in Meerut on May 10, 1857. Read the story here.

The Santhal Hul, also known as the Santhal Rebellion, was a significant tribal uprising against the British East India Company in 1855. This rebellion took place in the Santhal Parganas region, primarily in present-day Jharkhand, and was led by Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu. It emerged as a response to the exploitation and oppression faced by the Santhal people from both the British and local landlords.

As we reflect on the various rebellions, uprisings, and ruptures that contributed to India’s independence, books like Disaibon Hul are crucial. They not only represent India’s tribal communities but also tell the real stories from the people themselves. This narrative is vital for educating younger generations — whether tribal, dalit, caste Hindu, or otherwise — by providing an informed and realistic perspective tailored to their age. Read the story here.

On January 24, 1950, the first stanza of Rabindranath Tagore's 'Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata' was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly as India's national anthem. But the rest of the poem — often called the 'unsung anthem' — offers a deeper glimpse into Tagore's inclusive and pluralistic vision of India. Read the story here.

Luminaries, a three-part documentary series, sheds light on a fascinating intersection of history and cuisine. Set in the Dishoom restaurant in London's Kings Cross, the film delves into the remarkable yet often untold story of India's independence movement.

Dishoom itself holds immense historical significance. Formerly a railway transit shed built in 1850, it embodies the legacy of British colonialism in India. The series, however, uses this space to reclaim a different narrative. Read the story here.

In India, the act of boycotting as a form of non-violent protest led to the rise of protest products — homegrown alternatives to boycotted products — during the Swadeshi movement as an instrument of exerting pressure on complicit organisations, corporations, institutions, and individuals. From traditional textiles to homegrown cola, South Asian protest products taught us how to boycott as a political act. Read the story here.

On August 15th 1947, India was born, and with it numerous lives changed forever. The day of Indian independence marked a difference in a lot of lives that were uprooted from what they thought was home, especially in our Northern border. Although there are many stories of Indian partition and what India was like for that time period, not much is known about our colonial counterparts that departed back for their shores soon afterwards.

One such story is the story of Brigid Keenan, a woman whose family lived in numerous battlements in India and moved back to England after the war. But post-war Britain was nowhere near as joyful as her life in India had once been. Read her story here.

When India was celebrating its freedom from the British Raj, Goa was still doomed under the four and a half century rule of the Portuguese.

This charming city of flamboyant colours, abundant with beautiful and aesthetic architecture, breath-taking spectacles of nature, still shows the remnants of the Portuguese footprints in its soil. The influence of Portuguese style and taste can be seen in those tiny lanes, houses, churches, structures, which also stand evident to the potent and brutal rule of the Portuguese. Read the story here.

Here's more from Homegrown:

An Indo-Pakistani Musical Collaboration Paying Tribute To The Freedom Struggle

Five Female South Asian Rappers Exploring Gender, Culture, & Freedom Of Expression

Tre Ess's Album Puts A Powerful Alt-Rap Spotlight On Jharkhand's Tribal Struggles