MUMBAI: More than six decades after Independence, freedom fighters who helped overthrow foreign rule are struggling against the bureaucracy of modern India.

“We were better under British rule,’’ wrote 82-year-old S J Chughani, president of the Mumbai Freedom Fighters Sabha, in recent letters to the state and central governments to express the sabha’s frustration at the slow pace at which applications for freedom fighter status, under the Centre’s Swatantra Sainik Samman Scheme, are approved.

Thousands across the nation still await ‘freedom fighter’ status and the pension and benefits that come with it. This includes at least 350 people from Mumbai and hundreds more across Maharashtra, which was a hotbed of the freedom movement.

Speaking of the Mumbai sabha’s experience, Chughani said, “I have exchanged innumerable letters with the President and written to various chief ministers of Maharashtra, but they do not even bother to reply.’’ The Mumbai sabha has around 380 members, but only 30 or so are recognised as patriots. The other 350 have been writing to officials for 20 years.

“I am sorry to say that in my last letter to the government I went to the extent of saying that we were better under British rule,’’ Chughani told TOI.

In fact, as recently as May 2010, the Bombay High Court had to tell the state government not to be unfair to Namdeo Gaikwad, whose plea for a pension had been pending before a state panel for several years. Gaikwad, in his 90s, fought for the liberation of Goa.

Pension has been granted to 1.71 lakh freedom fighters or their eligible dependents across the country under the Centre’s Swatantra Sainik Samman Scheme, the main one for this purpose in the country, since its inception in 1972 and till October 2009.

Till January 2010, 17,909 people from Maharashtra had received pension under the scheme, but many more await this recognition even as they and their dependents get along in years.

According to official sources, the Ministry of Home Affairs is in the final stages of clearing the names of 1,614 people who took part in the movements to liberate Goa and Hyderabad. Many of those who fought to liberate Goa are from Maharashtra.

If the recognition to those involved in the Goa Liberation Movement during 1954-55 (Phase II in the documents) comes this year, it would come 55 years after their sacrifice. Likewise, participants of the Hyderabad Liberation Movement during 1947-48 would be getting recognition 62 years after their efforts. Such recognition might be too late, because the freedom fighters and their kin would be well advanced in years or even deceased. Kin like unmarried daughters, widows or parents also get benefits.

One reason for such delays is that certain historical events were not considered part of the freedom struggle for several decades by the government. For instance, only in 2003 did the government allow participants of the Goa Liberation Movement and those of the Hyderabad Liberation Movement to be included on the list of freedom fighters. This also means they can be eligible for pension and benefits only from 2003 onwards.

Chughani recounted the pitched battles that freedom fighters in Mumbai fought with colonial police to challenge foreign rule. His office at Grant Road is now the nodal point for several freedom fighters to come together and share their problems. “I have met almost every minister and MP who matters. But nothing has been done. We just want our due, but what really hurts is that in many cases they do not even reply to our letters,’’ Chughani said.

Pension is granted according to guidelines in the Swatantra Sainik Samman Scheme. In 2009-10 alone, the central government spent Rs 578 crore on benefits such as free railway passes, medical facilities, accommodation and monthly pensions, which can be as high as Rs 7,000 depending on which movement the freedom fighter was involved in.
The largest number of beneficiaries of the scheme are from Bihar, followed by West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. A large contingent of freedom fighters who fought under the banner of the Subhas Chandra Bose-led Indian National Army have been recognised by the government.

There have even been fake claimants, with the authorities coming across 35 cases last year in which details had been fudged to portray oneself as a freedom fighter.