Biography of Sarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu
Born: 13 February 1879
Place of Birth: Hyderabad
Parents: Aghore Nath Chattopadhyay (father) and Barada Sundari Devi (mother)
Spouse: Govindarajulu Naidu
Children: Jayasurya, Padmaja, Randheer, and Leelamani
Education: University of Madras; King’s College, London; Girton College, Cambridge
Associations: Indian National Congress
Movements: Indian Nationalist Movement, Indian Independence Movement
Political Ideology: Right-winged; Non-violence.
Religious Beliefs: Hinduism
Publications: The Golden Threshold (1905); The Bird of Time (1912); Muhammad Jinnah: An Ambassador of Unity. (1916); The Broken Wing (1917); The Sceptred Flute (1928); The Feather of the Dawn (1961)
Passed Away: 2 March 1949
Memorial: Golden Threshold, Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India
Sarojini Naidu was an Indian freedom fighter and poet as well as a politician. An accomplished orator and a renowned poet, she’s often called “The Nightingale from India’. When she was a child prodigy, Naidu wrote the play “Maher Muneer”, which gave her an award for study in the United States. She became the first woman President of the Indian National Congress.
It was her first female governor of an Indian state following the independence of the state. The collection of poems she wrote was a hit with literary critics. In 1905, she released her first book composed of poems under the title “Golden Threshold”. A poet of the present, Bappaditya Bandopadhyay quoted “Sarojini Naidu inspired the Indian renaissance movement and had a mission to improve the life of Indian woman.”
Childhood and Early Life
Sarojini Naidu (nee Chattopadhyay) was born on the 13th of February 1879, in Hyderabad. Her father Dr. Aghore Nath Chattopadhyay was an eminent scientist, philosopher, and educator. He established Nizam College in Hyderabad. The mother of her daughter, Varada Sundari Devi, was a poetess of Bengali. Bengali language. Dr. Aghore Nath Chattopadhyay was one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress in Hyderabad. Due to his political activities, Aghori Nath was dismissed from his post as Principal.
A brother of Aghore Nath, Virendranath Chattopadhyay, played a crucial role in the creation of the Berlin Committee. As a political activist, he was involved in India’s ongoing struggle for independence, he was strongly affected by Communism. Her sister Harindranath Chattopadhyay was a renowned playwright and poet who had a great career. Her sister Sunalini Devi, was a professional actor and dancer.
From the time she was a child, Sarojini was a very smart and bright child. She was proficient in many languages like English, Bengali, Urdu, Telugu, and Persian. She was a top performer in her matriculation examinations at Madras University. Her father was keen for Sarojini to be a scientist or mathematician, however, young Sarojini was drawn to poetry.
She used her dazzling literary abilities to compose an epic poem of 1300 lines in English called “The Lady of Lake’. Incredulous of Sarojini’s ability in conveying emotions using appropriate words and phrases, her mentor Dr. Chattopadhyaya encouraged her work. In the following months, Sarojini, with assistance from her father, composed”Maher Muneer,” a play “Maher Muneer” in the Persian language.
The father of Sarojini distributed plays with his relatives and friends. He also sent copies for the Nizam in Hyderabad. The Nizam was impressed by the efforts of the young girl The Nizam gave her a scholarship to go to the United States. At 16 years old she was accepted into King’s College, England and afterward, she became a student at Girton College in Cambridge. She got to meet famous English writers such as Arthur Simon and Edmond Gauss who instilled in her the to write on issues that were pertinent to India. They advised Sarojini “To be a genuine Indian poet of Deccan, not a clever machine-made imitator of the English classics” which encouraged her to draw inspiration from the beauty of India’s landscape as well as the religious diversity and fundamentals of the country’s cultural life.
Sarojini had a meeting with Muthyala Govindarajulu Naidu who was a South Indian, and a non-Brahmin doctor while studying in England and fell in love with him. When she returned to India she got married to him at the age of 19 with the blessings of his family. They were married under an act known as the Brahmo Marriage Act (1872) which was passed in Madras on the 18th of October,1898. The wedding took place at a time when intercaste marriages were not permitted and were not accepted in Indian society. The marriage was a happy one. The couple had 4 children.
Biography of Sarojini Naidu
Role in the Indian National Movement
Sarojini was introduced into the Indian political arena by two iconic leaders from the Indian freedom struggle, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Gandhi. She was profoundly disturbed by the division of Bengal in 1905 and was compelled that she would join in an Indian fight for freedom. She was regularly in contact together with Gopal Krishna Gokhale and he introduced her to other leaders from the Indian freedom movement. Gokhale advised her to put their knowledge and intellect to the cause.
She took a break from writing and dedicated herself wholeheartedly to the cause of political reform. She met Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Her friendship with Gandhi was one of mutual respect, as well as of humor and goodwill. She was famously known for calling Gandhi “Mickey Mouse” and said, “It costs a lot to keep Gandhi poor!”
She was acquainted with Jawaharlal Nehru in the year 1916. was a part of his team to improve the bleak conditions of Indigo workers in Champaran located in Bihar’s western region of Bihar and fought alongside the British to protect their rights. Sarojini Naidu traveled all over India and gave speeches about the welfare of young people and dignity of work women’s rights, and nationalists. The year 1917 was the time she was a part of the team in the creation of the Women’s India Association with Annie Besant as well as other prominent leaders. She also proposed the Congress the need to engage many women in the fight for freedom. She was a frequent traveler across the United States of America and numerous European nations as the flag-bearer for India’s Indian Nationalist struggle.
In March 1919 in 1919, the British government approved the Rowlatt Act by which the possession of seditious papers was considered unlawful. Mahatma Gandhi led his Non-Cooperation Movement to protest and Naidu was the first person to join the movement. Sarojini Naidu devotedly followed Gandhi’s lead and was active in his other campaigns, such as the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms Khilafat issue as well as the Sabarmati Pact and the Satyagraha Pledge and the Civil Disobedience Movement.
When Gandhi was detained following being detained during Salt March to Dandi in 1930, she was a leader in the Dharasana Satyagraha together with other leaders. She was accompanied by Gandhi on a trip to London to participate in the Round Table Talks with the British Government in 1931. Her political involvement and participation during the Freedom struggle resulted in multiple prison stints in the years 1930, 1932, and 1942. Her arrest in 1942 led to prison for 21 months.
She traveled back to England in 1919 to be a part of the All-India Home Rule Deputation. In January 1924 she was among two delegates from the Indian National Congress to attend the East African Indian Congress. In recognition of her selfless work for liberty her election as the president of the Indian National Congress Party in 1925.
Naidu was a major player in presenting the subtleties of the Indian peace struggle that was nonviolent to all of the world. She traveled through Europe and even to the United States to disseminate Gandhian principles. She was also responsible for making Gandhi a symbol of peace.
Following the declaration of independence for India, She was Governor of her first United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) and held the post until his death, in the year 1949. Her birthday, which falls on March 2 is celebrated by the government as Women’s Day in India.
Biography of Sarojini Naidu
Literary Achievements
Apart from her contributions as a member of the Indian Nationalist Movement, Sarojini Naidu is also known for her contributions to the area of Indian poetry. A lot of her poems were adapted into songs. Her inspiration came from the environment and everyday life, and her poems were in tune with the spirit of her patriotic spirit. In 1905 her collection of poems was released under the title “Golden Threshold”.
Then, she released two more collections titled “The Bird of Time” as well as “The Broken Wings”, each of which received a huge reader in the UK as well as India as well as England. In addition to writing poetry, she also wrote essays and articles like “Words of Freedom” on her political views as well as social issues such as women’s empowerment.
Death & Legacy
Sarojini Naidu is the first female governor of Uttar Pradesh. The 2nd March 1949 was the day that Sarojini Naidu passed away in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. She was a dazzling woman in her own words “As the length of time I live my existence and blood flows through my arm I will never leave this cause. freedom…I am a woman, a poet. As a woman, I present to you the tools of courage and faith, along with the shield of strength. As a poet, I spread the banner of music and sound and the bugle ring to fight.
What can I do to ignite the fire that will awaken the slaves of our times? …” The home she grew up in at Nampally was left to the University of Hyderabad by her family and was later christened with the title “The Golden Threshold following Naidu’s 1905 publication. The University changed its name to School of Fine Arts and Communication to “Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication’ to honor Naidu’s contribution to Nightingale from India.
Tags: short biography of Sarojini Naidu, full biography of Sarojini Naidu, biography of Sarojini Naidu in Telugu, life by Sarojini Naidu analysis, a short biography of Sarojini Naidu, biography on Sarojini Naidu, biodata of Sarojini Naidu, autobiography of Sarojini Naidu in English, famous works of Sarojini Naidu, biography of Sarojini Naidu in short, Sarojini Naidu, Sarojini Naidu biography,biography of Sarojini Naidu,Sarojini Naidu biography in English,Sarojini Naidu biography in Hindi,Sarojini Naidu biography in Telugu,essay on Sarojini Naidu,Sarojini Naidu essay,speech on Sarojini Naidu,10 lines on Sarojini Naidu,Sarojini Naidu biography of Odia,biography of Sarojini Naidu in Hindi,nightingale of India,biography of Sarojini Naidu in Telugu