WITH INDIA’S 80th INDEPENDENCE DAY nearing on August 15, 2026, many stories and episodes from the Indian independence movement are being recalled. Every single one of them mirrors strength, resilience, the requisite thirst for freedom, and the urge to break free from the chains of the British who ruled over India for nearly 200 years. 

After a relentless struggle spanning several decades, India’s independence remains a constant reminder of all the sacrifices that were made and of all the freedom fighters whose stories are to be passed on from generation to generation. The story of Saraswathi Rajamani is a lesser-known episode from India’s freedom struggle, about a young girl who is referred to as India’s youngest female spy.

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Who is Saraswathi Rajamani?

This is a story that might not be one of the more widely discussed episodes from the movement to attain freedom from the British Raj. It is about a young girl who joined the Indian National Army (INA) and later infiltrated a British military base in Kolkata as a worker. However, the twist in the story is that she disguised herself as a boy. Let’s learn more about this young female spy, whose bravery caught the attention of anti-colonial freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Rajamani was born in 1927 in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar), when her father owned a gold and tungsten mining business in the region. According to some reports, he was one of the richest Indians in the region and employed around 3,000 Chinese workers and 1,000 Gorkhas. When Rajamani was 16 years old, she crossed paths with Subhas Chandra Bose for the first time. 

It was then that Rajamani donated all her jewellery to the INA after being inspired by Bose’s speech. Seeing her sacrifice, he went to her house to return her jewellery, but to his surprise, Rajamani refused to accept it. It was at that moment that Bose recognised her dedication and named her Saraswathi Rajamani. 

Rajamani was recruited into the Rani of Jhansi Regiment of the INA in 1942, marking the beginning of her journey as India’s youngest female spy. Rajamani recalled what Bose had said about the Jhansi Regiment in a Times of India interview in 2017. She recalled him saying, “I want a unit of brave Indian women to form a death-defying regiment that will wield the sword which Rani of Jhansi wielded in India's First War of Independence in 1857.”

The INA was disbanded in 1945 following Japan’s defeat in World War 2. Rajamani was affiliated with the INA’s military intelligence wing, and her most notable mission was when she was sent to spy on a British military base in Calcutta (now Kolkata).

When Saraswathi Rajamani Was Disguised as a Boy and Spied on the British

One of the most remarkable tales from Saraswathi Rajamani’s story was when she spied on a British military base in Calcutta, India. It was during the Second World War when Rajamani, along with others, disguised herself as a boy and infiltrated the base to gather information. According to reports, her mission continued for two years and helped obtain important information, including an alleged plan to assassinate Netaji Bose.

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Amid this dangerous mission, one of her colleagues was caught and captured. To rescue her, Rajamani came up with a plan like no other at the time. She disguised herself as a dancer and charmed the officers. She later drugged the officials in charge and rescued her colleague, but was caught in the act. One of the British guards shot Rajamani in her left leg, but she managed to escape. 

The Later Years of Saraswathi Rajamani

Several reports suggest that the later years of Rajamani, who came from a wealthy family, were filled with struggles. Following the end of World War II in 1945, her family, which had funded the INA, went broke and returned to South India, where they lived for the rest of their lives. According to Homegrown, Rajamani lived in a single-room apartment in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, before she was shifted to an old house.

Saraswathi Rajamani, India’s youngest female spy, bid farewell to the world in 2018 following a cardiac arrest. Today and forever, Rajamani’s service to the country will continue to be remembered and narrated to future generations. A young girl who fought for the country’s freedom at a remarkably young age, from making immense sacrifices to nearly being forgotten, she is remembered as India’s youngest female spy—Saraswathi Rajamani.

(Edited by Harsh Pandey)

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