Sarala Devi Chaudhurani

Sarala Devi Chaudhurani সরলা দেবী চৌধুরানী
Sarala Devi Chaudhurani
Born	September 9, 1872(1872-09-09) Kolkata, Bengal, British India
Died	August 18, 1945(1945-08-18) (aged 72)
Nationality	Indian
Ethnicity	Bengali Hindu
Occupation	Educationist
Religion	Hinduism
Spouse	Rambhuj Dutt Chaudhuri

Sarala Devi Chaudhurani (Bengali: সরলা দেবী চৌধুরানী) (9 September 1872 – 18 August 1945) was the founder of the first women's organisation in India, the Bharat Stree Mahamandal in Allahabad in 1910. One of the primary goals of the organisation was to promote female education, which at that time was not well developed. The organisation opened several offices in Lahore (then part of undivided India), Allahabad, Delhi, Karachi, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Bankura, Hazaribagh, Midnapur and Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) to improve the situation of women all over India.

Life

Sarala Devi was born in Kolkata in 1872 to a well known Bengali intellectual family. Her father Janakinath Ghosal was one of the earliest secretaries of the Bengal Congress. Her mother Swarnakumari Devi was the first successful woman novelist of Bengali literature. Swarnakumari Devi was the daughter of 'Maharshi' Debendranath Tagore, a leading Brahmo leader and elder sister of legendary poet Rabindranath Tagore. In 1886, she passed her University Entrance examination. In 1890, She passed her B.A. examination in English literature from Calcutta University and received the Padmavati Gold Medal. She was also one of the few women graduates of her time, and probably the first woman political leader from Bengal in the Indian independence movement. Mahatma Gandhi was having a soft corner and special liking for Sarala Devi.

Personal life

In 1905, she was married to Pandit Rambhuj Dutt Chaudhary (1866–1923), a journalist, and member of Arya Samaj and Congress. Their son Dipak Dutt married Radha, grand daughter of Mahatma Gandhi.

References

• Women Activists
• Early Feminists of Colonial India
• [1]

Persondata
Name	Chaudhurani, Sarala Devi
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	9 September 1872
Place of birth	Kolkata, Bengal, British India
Date of death	18 August 1945
Place of death