| Chaudhurani, Saraladevi (1872-1945)
writer, social worker and nationalist, was born on 9 September 1872 at
Jorasanko in Kolkata. Her father, Janakinath Ghosal, was a founder member
of the Congress and her mother was swarna
kumari devi. At Bethune School kamini
roy and Lady Abala Bose were among her classmates. Saraladevi
stood first in the Entrance examination (1886), and passed BA with honours
in English (1890). She was proficient in French, sanskrit
and persian.
She was married in 1905 to Rambhuj Dutta Chaudhuri, lawyer, leader of
the Punjab Arya Samaj and editor of the journal Hindustan (Lahore).
She taught at the Maharani Girls' School in Mysore. She was involved in
a variety of ways with the nationalist movement of the times. She sang
Vande mataram at a conference of the indian
national congress, altering the 'seven crores' in the text
to 'thirty crores'. She helped Jatindranath Bandyopadhyay to form a revolutionary
group, and she took active part in the swadeshi
movement, founding Laksmir Bhandar (1904), which propagated
the use of hand-woven textiles. She took the initiative to spread education
among Punjabi women in purda.
The Bharat-Stri-Mahamandal was founded through her efforts.
In Kolkata, Saraladevi
founded the Bharat-Stri-Shiksa-Sadan and introduced games with swords
and batons among women. Her involvement in nationalist politics
brought her in contact with Lala Lajpat Ray, Gopal Krishna Gokhle,
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Gandhi. Though she had founded the Theosophical
Society, in later years she turned religious, becoming a disciple
of Guru Bijoy Krishna Dev Sharma. |
|
Saraladevi
Chaudhurani |
Apart from writing, Saraladevi also edited a number of
journals. When her husband was in jail, she edited the Hindustan
and launched its English edition. For a long time she helped edit the
bharati.
Among her important publications are Nababarser Svapna, Jibaner
Jharapata, Banalir Pitrdhan (1903), Bharat Stri Mahamandal
(1911). Saraladevi died on 18 August 1945. [Badiuzzaman]
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