Sarojini Naidu and Women in National Movement

Sarojini Naidu played a transformative role in the Indian national movement by bridging literature, political activism, and women’s rights. Born on February 13, 1879, in Hyderabad, she evolved from a literary prodigy into the first Indian woman president of the Indian National Congress. Her life embodies the active participation of women in India’s struggle for independence. Her political trajectory shifted from poetic expression to fierce anti-colonial resistance under the mentorship of Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Mahatma Gandhi. Early Life and Literary Career

Education and Literary Works

• Born to Aghorenath Chattopadhyaya and Baroda Sundari Devi, Naidu topped the Madras matriculation examination at age twelve.
• She studied at King’s College London and Girton College Cambridge on a scholarship from the Nizam of Hyderabad.
• Arthur Symons and Edmund Gosse advised her to focus on Indian themes in her English poetry.
• She published her debut poetry collection, The Golden Threshold, in 1905.
• Subsequent poetry collections included The Bird of Time in 1912 and The Broken Wing in 1917.
• Mahatma Gandhi bestowed upon her the title Nightingale of India because of the musical quality of her verses.

Political Awakening and INC Leadership

Transition to Politics

• Gopal Krishna Gokhale persuaded Naidu to dedicate her talent to the service of the motherland.
• She stopped writing poetry after 1917 to focus entirely on the freedom struggle and social reform.
• She participated in the Lucknow Pact of 1916 to support Hindu-Muslim unity.
• She presided over the Indian National Congress session at Kanpur in 1925, becoming the first Indian woman to head the organization.
• She served as the president of the East African Indian Congress in South Africa in 1924 to protect the rights of overseas Indians.
• Following India’s independence, she served as the first woman Governor of the United Provinces from 1947 until her death in 1949.

Participation in Freedom Struggles

Mass Movements and Satyagraha

• Naidu traveled across India to mobilize women and youth during the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920.
• She promoted the use of Khadi and the boycott of foreign goods.
• Mahatma Gandhi appointed Naidu to lead the Salt Satyagraha at the Dharasana Salt Works in May 1930 after his arrest.
• She faced police brutality and frequent imprisonment for seditious speeches and civil disobedience.
• She accompanied Mahatma Gandhi to London in 1931 as a delegate to the Second Round Table Conference.
• She was arrested alongside other leaders during the Quit India Movement in 1942 and detained at the Aga Khan Palace.

Women Suffrage and Social Reform

Advocacy for Women Rights

• Naidu co-founded the Women’s Indian Association in 1917 alongside Annie Besant and Margaret Cousins.
• She led a women delegation to meet Edwin Montagu and Lord Chelmsford in 1917 to demand voting rights for women.
• She presented the case for the political franchise of women before the Joint Select Committee of the British Parliament in London in 1919.
• She campaigned against child marriage, the caste system, and untouchability.
• She advocated for compulsory primary education for girls as a tool for national development.

Facts in Bullets

• Sarojini Naidu was born on February 13, 1879, in Hyderabad.
• Her birth anniversary is celebrated annually as National Women’s Day in India.
• She was the second woman to head the Indian National Congress after Annie Besant.
• Her famous poem In the Bazaars of Hyderabad remains widely studied.
• She served as the Governor of the United Provinces from August 15, 1947, until her death on March 2, 1949.