Ramā Debī Caudhurī

Ramā Debī Caudhurī ( Oriya ରମାଦେବୀ ଚୌଧୁରୀ ; December 3, 1899 in Satyabhamapur in the Cuttack district - July 22, 1985 in Cuttack ), also known as Ramadevi Chaudhuri , Rama Devi or Maa (mother in the Oriya language ) was an Indian activist and social reformer from Odisha .

Life

Ramā Debī Caudhurī was strongly influenced in its development by her uncle Madhusudan Das, who in turn was a nationalist and a supporter of the Indian politician Aurobindo Ghose . In 1921 she attended a meeting of women in Cuttack where Mahatma Gandhi spoke. This meeting and the encounter with Gandhi marked a turning point in her life. She followed his example and became politically active in his spirit. So she took part in meetings of the Indian National Congress in Gaya in 1922 and in Calcutta in 1928 . In Baleswar , she joined the salt satyagraha , the peaceful protest against the British salt monopoly, and encouraged Indian women to produce salt themselves. In this context, Ramā Debī Caudhurī was arrested for the first time in 1930. In 1931 she was granted amnesty through the Gandhi-Irwin Pact . As a result, she was one of the leaders in Gandhi's movement for the casteless . Gandhi himself described her efforts as admirable and gave her, together with her husband Gopobandhu Caudhurī, the task of building an ashram called Sebaghar in the village of Bari in Odisha . From there, the villagers received practical help, educational offers, but also political education on issues such as women's rights and castelessness. Ramā Debī Caudhurī was arrested again for her work in the “Quit India” movement and the Ashram was declared illegal by the British government. Ramadevi spent two years in prison and, after her release in 1944, was primarily involved in the education of women and the spread of khadi , a hand-spun and hand-woven clothing that promoted the self-sufficiency of the rural population. After India's independence in 1947, Ramā Debī Caudhurī withdrew from active politics and devoted himself to supporting self-help organizations, following Vinoba Bhave .

Awards and honors

Ramā Debī Caudhurī was honored in 1981 with the Jamnalal Bajaj Award for Services to Women and Children. In memory of her, a women's university in Bhubaneshwar was named after her. The school she founded in Cuttack was also renamed from Shishu Vihar to Ramadevi Shishu Vihar .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Balabhadra Ghadai: Rama Devi, the Mother of the Masses. (PDF) Orissa Review, April 2011, accessed November 13, 2016 . 
2. ↑ Smt. Ramadevi Chaudhuri. Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation, accessed November 13, 2016 . 
3. ↑ Home. Rama Devi Women's University, accessed November 13, 2016 .