On 13th February, 1879, Sarojini Naidu was born in Hyderabad to Aghorenath Chattopadhyay, an Indian educationist and reformer. Her father was a principal of Nizam College and held a doctorate of Science from Edinburgh University. Meanwhile, her mother, Barada Sundari Devi, was a Bengali poet.
Being born into a family that valued education and art, it is no wonder that Sarojini Naidu became one of the most important figures in the fight for Indian Independence. When she returned to India after her studies in the United Kingdom, she married Govindaraju Naidu, a physician from a different caste. The marriage was considered as “groundbreaking and scandalous".
Sarojini Naidu’s political career began in 1904, as an orator promoting Indian Independence and Women’s Rights. She addressed the Indian National Congress and the Indian Social Conference in Calcutta in 1906. Soon, she became the second woman President of the Indian National Congress in 1925, the first being Annie Besant in 1917.
In 1917, she established the Women's Indian Association with a fellow reformer, Muthulakshmi Reddy. Later in the same year, she became the spokesperson for a delegation of women meeting Edwin Montagu, the Secretary of State for India, and Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy of India. In the meeting, she expressed the women’s wishes to see self-government and advocated for universal suffrage. The desire for women’s suffrage was realized on the day of India’s Independence, making Independent India one of the few countries where women never had to fight for their right to vote.
Sarojini Naidu was close to many prominent Indian figures of the time, like Mahatma Gandhi, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Rabindranath Tagore and Sarala Devi Chaudhurani. She joined Gandhi’s non-violent satyagraha movement. Initially, Gandhi was hesitant to let women participate in the Salt March but changed his mind after being persuaded by Naidu and other female activists like Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and Khurshed Naoroji. In 1942, she was one of the leaders arrested for participating in the Quit India Movement.
After India’s Independence, Naidu was appointed as the governor of the United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh), making her the first female governor of India. She presided over the office until she died in 1949 In India, her birth anniversary is recognized as Women’s Day to honour the strong and resilient women of India and was also dubbed as the "Nightingale of India". Her poems often had the themes of culture, unity, and freedom.
Naidu even has an asteroid named after her. Asteroid 5647 Sarojininaidu, discovered by Eleanor Helin at Palomar Observatory in 1990 was named in her honour.
Sarojini Naidu passed away on 2nd March, 1949 at the age of 70 at the Government House in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Her death was caused by a cardiac arrest.
We, at Child Help Foundation, greatly admire and respect Sarojini Naidu. Through our Gender Equality programme, we have helped 53,426 people
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