E-Paper
Clock ticking on U.P’s living legacy of freedom struggle!
With age catching up, the state may have no surviving freedom fighters by 2026, democracy heroes by 2040, five-year data analysis indicates
Uttar Pradesh’s living legacy of India’s greatest political struggles -- its freedom fighters and democracy fighters (those who fought against the Emergency) -- is fast fading due their natural ageing process and if current trends continue, the state may have no surviving freedom fighters left by mid-2026, and democracy fighters may disappear by 2040 or so, a five-year data review indicates.
However, while the number of surviving veterans in the state has steadily declined, the number of their dependents availing government support has continued to grow.
The latest official data from December 2020 to December 2024 shows a sharp decline in the number of surviving freedom fighters over the past five years. As of December 2020, there were 73 freedom fighters receiving government recognition and support. By December 2024, this number had dropped to just 21, as per official records.
“This translates to an average annual decline of 13 freedom fighters per year. At this rate, the remaining 21 are likely to be gone within the next 1.6 years, pointing to a likely complete absence of surviving freedom fighters by mid-2026,” an official from the political pension department said.
According to the figures, a total of 884 dependents of these freedom fighters continue to receive support. The monthly pension for surviving freedom fighters stands at ₹20,176. Additional benefits include transport and cremation assistance. In FY 2023-24, the government sanctioned ₹20 lakh under the transport category, of which ₹1,45,008 was spent.
Similarly, the number of democracy fighters -- individuals who resisted the Emergency (1975-77) and are recognised under the Democracy Fighters’ Pension Scheme -- continues to decline steadily. Their numbers fell from 5,206 in December 2020 to 4,520 in December 2024, marking an annual drop of about 171 individuals. “At this pace, U.P. may see its last democracy fighter around 2040-45, given that most of these individuals are in their 70s,” the official said.
In contrast to the declining number of beneficiaries, the number of dependents under this category has marginally increased from 801 in 2020 to 1,160 in 2024. The pension for democracy fighters is ₹20,000 per month. For transport benefits, a sum of ₹30 lakh was allocated in FY 2023-24, with ₹51,58,975 spent under this category, indicating a backlog or accumulation of pending claims.
The combined number of freedom fighters and their dependents fell from 1,314 in 2020 to 905 in 2024. For democracy fighters and their dependents, the number dropped from 6,007 in 2020 to 5,680 in 2024.
“This is the last generation with living memory of either the freedom struggle or the Emergency resistance. Once they are gone, what remains is only documentation, and the values they stood for,” the official noted.
Freedom fighters, most of whom were born in the early 1920s or before, are now in their late 80s or beyond. Democracy fighters, largely aged between 65 and 85 now, are also ageing fast. Many among both groups continue to receive pensions and assistance.
As per rules, 3% reservation in government jobs is available for up to three generations of freedom fighters. Both freedom fighters and democracy fighters’ widows and their unmarried daughters after them are entitled to pension benefits.
“As India looks to the future, the trend of the fast declining number of freedom fighters and democracy fighters is a stark reminder that the voices of its most courageous generations must be remembered, recorded, and celebrated before they fall silent forever,” said the official.
