About the Book: From the warrior queens Rani Abbaka and Velu Nachiyar, to 73-year-old Matangini Hazra and 15-year-old Shanti, Suniti and Maina (13), this book brings to our readers the life stories of some of India’s most firebrand freedom fighter, called Agnikanyas by the colonial rulers. Their bravery knows no parallel. What is astonishing is that their age, social condition and education did not matter — for them and for Motherland India what mattered was their conviction — oust the British, free India. There are hundreds of such men and women who deserved a place in the annals of history. Some of these girls and women were called ‘Agnikanya’ – literally, daughter of fire – by the colonial administration in India. This book is an attempt to tell their stories with the hope that readers’ curiosity will be aroused to further explore the role of women in Indian history. In this book, we bring a small selection of 13 stories, from Tamil Nadu to Assam, with the hope that our young readers’ curiosity will be aroused to further explore the role of women in Indian history.