Freedomfighter

“Hey you, get out of the premises, what the hell are you doing here, how did you get in, when the whole place is secured”? , the guard was yelling at a young boy who had trespassed into a restricted area. It was a British Defence colony, and the UK flag was flying high on the building with its vibrancy. This irked a lot for a 10 year old Indian boy who was a staunch patriot. He had planned a gate crash into the colony to uproot the British supremacy. He wanted to remove the flag and hoist our tricolour Indian flag and cry the slogan of Vande Mataram . Though he was just a kid his patriotism surpassed his tender age. He had planned this  with his little followers , kids of his own age .  It was a peak time for the Freedom fighters against the British rule. The Quit India Movement which was flagged off by the non violent comrade Mahatma Gandhiji. This kid was a follower of Gandhiji.  Though he hadn’t seen Gandhiji in person he had heard the stories about the Mahatma.

He wanted to be a part of the freedom Movement hence he dared to trespass the British colony. Thomas who hailed from Kerala (God’s own country) , was the son of a fisherman named Samuel. Samuel was just a simple fisherman who had his meagre fishing business. He had a few yachts which he used for his fishing business.  Samuel was married Mary and they had two little children Thomas and Violet. Violet was the elder one and Thomas was her little brother. The children were completely different from each other. Mary was a brilliant and smart girl whereas Thomas was an average kid but had a very brave attitude.

One day Samuel had ventured the sea with his yachts and to his good luck he got a big catch with most expensive eels, cat fishes, salmons, shrimps , prawns and lobsters. It was a very lucky day for him. Everybody was celebrating his success. Little did they know their catch would be decreased bit by bit by little hands of Thomas. “Hey Thomas what on earth are doing , why are you throwing the catch back into the sea. They are a priceless catch” screamed Samuel. Thomas was then a five year old kid and his pranks were endless. But today he had crossed his limits he had just emptied major part of the catch which irked everyone out there especially his father. Thomas ran to his mother for protection when Samuel tried to hit him . Mary consoled her husband saying, “Sam , he is just a small child he doesn’t understand all these things let me find out first why he threw them back into the sea”. “Thomas dear don’t get scared , will you tell why did you throw dad’s priceless catch back into the sea ,don’t you know he and his friends have worked so much for catching them”. Thomas replied in a faint voice,” Mom, they were withering in pain , they were dying , I couldn’t see them die , I just wanted to give them freedom . They were so happy when I put them back in water , they were back to life”. This was Thomas a gentle affectionate kid . He couldn’t see the fishes die out of breathlessness.

Thomas learnt about Gandhiji in his classes , he was inspired by his principles and ethics. Though Thomas was in his tender age , he was more matured for his age. His pranks looked childish but his every action had a matured gesture. Thomas had made a group of his own where he would teach the other children about Gandhiji and his fight for freedom. He had made up his mind to hoist a tricolour in the British colony which was a very dangerous move. “Thomas , you are so brave and daring , I think you are the only one in our group who can hoist the flag barging into a British colony. “. His friends were encouraging him for this daring act.

“Hey you , what are trying to do you spoilt brat , just step down else you will given a thrash on your back “ yelled a British officer . But Thomas was out of hearing he climbed the terrace where the British flag was flying , he pulled down the flag , and hoisted our Indian tricolour with a victorious scream Vande Mataram(Salutation to Mother India). His loud scream echoed the whole arena . The security pulled him down and thrashed him hard. He was left alive as many Freedom activists appeared and they attacked on the security guards. Thomas survived with bruises and injuries. But his dedication and patriotism did not die. He joined the Quit India Movement conferred by Gandhiji . He went places along with his young team to educate people the necessity of Freedom from the clutches of British supremacy in India. The Freedom activists were thrown behind bars by the British Thomas was a juvenile , he was send to remand home . Though he was a young lad he was a true freedom fighter. India gained Independence in 1947 . Thomas was conferred the youngest freedom fighter and he was given the highest Honour.

“And here we present to you the Great Thomas Kurien the youngest freedom fighter of Indian Independence” , said an elderly aged person who was seated in his armchair and narrating a story to little children who had surrounded him to listen to his stories.

“Grandpa, were you so brave in your younger days , did you hoist the flag and scream aloud Vande Mataram?” asked Mala the youngest granddaughter of Thomas. “Yes dear , I didn’t budge a bit when the British security guards thrashed me.” “Oh God grandpa you are such a brave soul, you are pride of our country”

“Granny, you are so lucky to have such a brave husband “,said Pinky one of the grand daughter’s of Thomas. “Yes, very lucky indeed, your grand dad is a very brave man, he was going to school one day and he was pushed into a crowd of Freedom activists and he was in jail for a few months. A very brave freedom fighter “thought Fanny. She whispered in his ears “Stop cooking cock and bull stories to children they are growing up they might find out your fake identity”.