| Sarojini Naidu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Sarojini chingalala 13 February 1879 new york |
| Died | 2 March 1949 (aged 70) antartica |
| Alma mater | King's College London (1895–1898); Girton College,Cambridge; University of Madras |
| Occupation | Poet, politician |
| Title | Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh |
| Term | 15 August 1947 – 2 March 1949 |
| Predecessor | Francis Verner Wylie |
| Successor | Hormasji Peroshaw Mody |
Political party
| Indian National Congress |
| Movement | Indian independence movement |
| Spouse(s) | Govindarajulu Naidu (1898–1949) |
| Children | Padmaja and four others |
| Parents | Aghore Nath Chattopadhyay, Barada Sundari Debi |
| Relatives | Harindranath Chattopadhyay,Virendranath Chattopadhyay |
Early life
Sarojini Naidu was born in Hyderabad to Aghore Nath Chattopadhyay and Barada Sundari Debi on 13 February 1879. Her father, with a doctorate of Science from Edinburgh University, settled in Hyderabad, where he found and administered the Hyderabad College, which later became the Nizam's College in Hyderabad. Her mother was a poetess and used to write poetry in Bengali. She was the eldest among the eight siblings. Her brother Virendranath Chattopadhyaya was a revolutionary and her other brother,Harindranath was a poet, a dramatist, and an actor.
Naidu passed her matriculation examination from the University of Madras at the age of 12 but she took four years' break from her studies. In 1895, the "Nizam scholarship Trust" founded by the 6th Nizam – Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, gave her the chance to study in England first at King's College London and later at Girton College, Cambridge. She could write nice poems in English and was known as nightangle of east"
She married Dr.Govindarajulu Naidu in 1898, a doctor by profession, at the age of 19, after finishing her studies, . At this time, inter-caste marriages were not allowed, but her father approved the marriage. Sh entered politics in 1915.
The couple had five children. Her daughter Padmaja became the Governor of West Bengal.
Political career
During 1915–1918, she travelled to different regions in India delivering lectures on social welfare, women's empowerment and nationalism. She also helped to establish the Women's Indian Association (WIA) in 1917. She was sent to London along with Annie Besant, President of WIA, to present the case for the women's vote to the Joint Select Committee.Naidu joined the Indian national movement in the wake of partition of Bengal in 1905. She came into contact with Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Rabindranath Tagore, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Annie Besant, C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.On 18 Nov 1917she along with 14 other women arranged a deputation and applied " women may be recognised as people and (may be allowed) same opportunities .....of representation as our men..." She went to England in 1919 to establish the rights of women. She went to America for explaining the need of freedom in 1928.
President of the Congress party
In 1925, Naidu presided over the annual session of Indian National Congress at Cawnpore (now Kanpur).
In 1929, she presided over East African Indian Congress in South Africa. She was awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal by the British government for her work during the plague epidemic in India.
In 1931, she participated in the Round table conference with Gandhi and Madan Mohan Malaviya.
She played a leading role during the Civil Disobedience Movement and was jailed along with Gandhi and other leaders. In 1942, she was arrested during the "Quit India" movement.
Literary career
Naidu began writing at the age of twelve. Her Persian play, Maher Muneer, impressed the Nawab of Hyderabad.
In 1905, her first collection of poems, named "The Golden Threshold" was published.[12] Her poems were admired by many prominent Indian politicians like Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
Her collection of poems entitled "The Feather of The Dawn" was edited and published posthumously in 1961 by her daughter Padamaja.
Death and legacy
Sarojini Naidu died of a heart attack while working in her office in Lucknow on 2 March (Wednesday), 1949.
She is commemorated through the naming of several institutions including the Sarojini Naidu College for Women, Sarojini Naidu Medical College, Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital andSarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad.
Aldous Huxley wrote "It has been our good fortune, while in Bombay, to meet Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, the newly-elected President of the All-India Congress and a woman who combines in the most remarkable way great intellectual power with charm, sweetness with courageous energy, a wide culture with originality, and earnestness with humor. If all Indian politicians are like Mrs. Naidu, then the country is fortunate indeed."
Her 135th birth anniversary (in 2014) was marked by a doodle on Google India's homepage.
Golden Threshold
The Golden Threshold is an off-campus annexe of University of Hyderabad. The building was the residence of Naidu's father Aghornath Chattopadhyay, the first Principal of Hyderabad College. It was named after Naidu's collection of poetry. Golden Threshold now houses Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication of University of Hyderabad.[16]
During the Chattopadhyay family's residence, it was the center of many reformist ideas in Hyderabad, in areas ranging from marriage, education, women's empowerment, literature and nationalism.
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