Mithuben Petit | |
|---|---|
 Mahatma Gandhi, Petit (centre), and Sarojini Naidu in 1930 | |
| Born | (1892-04-11)11 April 1892 Bombay, British India |
| Died | 16 July 1973(1973-07-16) (aged 81) Surat, Gujarat, India |
| Education | Convent of Jesus and Mary,Colaba |
| Occupation | Indian independence activist |
| Relatives | Dinshaw Maneckji Petit (grandfather) Bomanjee Dinshaw Petit (uncle) Jehangir Bomanji Petit (cousin) Rattanbai Petit (cousin) |
| Awards | Padma Shri 1961 |
Mithuben Hormusji Petit (11 April 1892 – 16 July 1973) was anIndian independence activist who participated inMahatma Gandhi'sDandi March.[1][2] A pioneer female independence activist,[3][4] she was the Secretary of the Rashtriya Stree Sabha, a women's movement founded onGandhian ideals. She became a recipient of India’s fourth highest-civilian honour,Padma Shri in 1961, for her social work.
Born on 11 April 1892 into an affluentParsiZoroastrian inBombay, Petit's father was one of the sons of SirDinshaw Maneckji Petit, a well-known industrialist, philanthropist, andBaronet.[5][6] Mithuben was the niece of industrialistBomanjee Dinshaw Petit and cousin ofJehangir Bomanji Petit andRattanbai Petit.
Petit studied atConvent of Jesus and Mary,Colaba.[7] Her activism was met with challenges by thePetit family, who urged her to renounce her activism or risk disinheritance, to which she refused and responded: "It is your business to sit with the government and mine to remain with the nation.".[8]
Petit was influenced by her aunt,Jaiji Jehangir Petit, who was a follower ofMahatma Gandhi and was the Secretary of the Rashtriya Stree Sabha, a women's movement founded on Gandhian ideals.[9] She was active in the relief work during the floods of Gujarat in 1927, along with Ratanbahen Mehta and Bhaktiba Desai. During Bardoli Satyagraha in 1928, she moved from village to village to create awareness among the women. She took part in Borsad Satyagraha in 1929 and stayed at the camp.
Petit, along withKasturba Gandhi andSarojini Naidu, played a major part in theSalt March,[10] with Kasturba Gandhi beginning the march atSabarmati, Sarojini Naidu lifting the salt for the first time at Dandi on 6 April 1930 and Petit standing behind Mahatma Gandhi when he repeated the violation at Bhimrad on 9 April 1930. The march was one of the most important events in the Indian independence movement.[3] In a time when women were forced to take a back seat (due to the patriarchal culture at that time in India) Petit was one of the three women who played a pivotal role in the march and thecivil disobedience against tax on salt.[10] Petit participated in theBardoli Satyagraha of 1928 which was a no enhancement campaign against theBritish Raj where she worked under the guidance ofSardar Patel.[11] Petit was instrumental in the anti-liquor movement in India and spent time with Mahatma Gandhi and explained the liquor issue with theschedule tribes inGujarat.[12]
Petit set up anashram inMaroli calledKasturba Vanat Shala or Kasturba Sevashram in 1930, which taught underprivileged children from families ofAdivasis,Harijans and fisher folk spinning, carding, weaving, dairy farming, leather-work and a Diploma Course in Sewing, to make the women self-sufficient.[13] Petit, known as "Maiji" (mother) also opened a hospital of the same name for the scientific treatment of mentally ill patients in 1942.[14][15]
She died on 16 July 1973, atSurat.[6]
Petit received thePadma Shri in 1961 for her social work.[16][17]
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