Ramadevi Choudhury | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1899-12-03)3 December 1899 |
| Died | 22 July 1985(1985-07-22) (aged 85) |
| Other names | Maa Rama Devi |
| Occupation(s) | Indian independence activist, social reformer |
| Spouse | Gopabandhu Choudhury |
| Parent(s) | Gopala Ballabha Das Basanta Kumari Devi |
| Relatives | Uma Devi (sister) Madhusudan Das (uncle) Nabakrushna Choudhury (brother in law) |
| Awards | Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award |
Ramadevi Choudhury (3 December 1899 – 22 July 1985), also known asRama Devi, was an Indian freedom fighter and a social reformer.[1] She was called Maa (Mother) by the people of Odisha. TheRamadevi Women's University in Bhubaneswar has been named after her.[2]
She was born in an aristocraticZamindar Karan family. She was the daughter ofChoudhury Gopala Ballabha Das and Basant Kumari Devi and the niece ofUtkal Gaurab Madhusudan Das. At the age of 15, she marriedGopabandhu Choudhury, then a Deputy Collector.[3]
Together with her husband, she joined the Indian independence movement in 1921.[3] She was highly influenced byMahatma Gandhi[4] and took an active part in Non Cooperation Movement. She used to go from village to village to encourage women to join the independence movement.[4] Others who influenced her wereJai Prakash Narayan,Vinoba Bhave and her uncle, Madhusudan Das.[4] In 1921, she had her first meeting with Gandhiji and, together with her husband, joined the Non Cooperation Movement.[4] The same year they joined theIndian National Congress and started wearingkhadi.[4] In 1930, she took active part in theSalt Satyagraha movement at Orissa level. She went to Inchudi and Srijang, with other activist like Kiranbala Sen, Maltidevi,Sarala Devi, Pranakrushna Padhiari.[4] She and her colleagues were arrested in November 1930 and placed in different jails by the British. She was arrested several times (in 1921, 1930, 1936, 1942) with other women independence activists like Sarala Devi,Malati Choudhury and others and was sent to jail.[5][6][7][4] She attended the 1931 Karachi session of the Indian National Congress and, at that time, requested leaders to hold the next session in Orissa.[4] In 1932 after her release from Hazaribagh jail, she was actively involved inHarijan welfare. She stated theAsprushyata Nibarana Samiti under instructions from Gandhiji, for the eradication of untouchability. The institution was later renamed theHarijan Sewa Sangha.[4] She was closely involved in Gandhiji's 1932 and 1934 visits to Orissa as well as the visits of,Kasturba,Sardar Patel,Rajendra Prasad,Maulana Azad,Jawaharlal Nehru and others.[4] She started an Ashram at Bari, Orissa which Gandhiji namedSewaghar.[4] During the Quit India Movement of 1942, members of Rama Devi's entire family, including her husband, Gopabandhu Choudhury, were arrested.[4] After the death ofKasturba Gandhi,Gandhji assigned her work as the representative of the Orissa chapter of the Kasturba Trust.[4]
After theIndependence of India in 1947, Rama Devi dedicated herself to the cause ofBhoodan andGramdan movement ofAcharya Vinoba Bhave.[8] In 1952 she along with her husband she travelled on foot about 4000 kilometres across the state to propagate the message of giving land and wealth to the landless and poor.[8][9][10][11][12][13] From 1928, Rama Devi stayed in the Alaka Ashram atJagatsingpur.[14]
She helped set up the Utkal Khadi Mandal and also established a Teachers' Training Centre andBalwadi atRamchandrapur. In 1950 she set up a Tribal Welfare Centre atDumburugeda. During the 1951 famine she and Malati worked in famine relief inKoraput. She worked to aid soldiers affected by theIndo-Chinese War of 1962.
Duringthe Emergency she protested by bringing out her own newspaper along withHarekrushna Mahatab andNilamani Routray.[4] The Gram Sevak Press, was banned by the government and was arrested along with other leaders from Orissa likeNabakrushna Choudhury, Harekrushna Mahatab, Manmohan Chowdhury, Smt.Annapurna Moharana, Jaykrushana Mohanty, and others.[15]
She established a primary school,Shishu Vihar and a cancer hospital atCuttack.[4]
In recognition of her services to the nation, Ramadevi was awarded theJamnalal Bajaj Award[16][17] on 4 November 1981 and the Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris causa) byUtkal University on 16 April 1984.
Rama Devi Women's University atBhubaneshwar is named in her memory. It is the first women's university in eastern India, established as such since 2015. There is a museum dedicated to her within the university premises.[18] The school – Shishu Vihar – started by her atCuttack is now named Ramadevi Shishu Vihar.[19]
She died on 22 July 1985 at the age of 85.[4]
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