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Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, M’lurean freedom fighter who defied societal norms

12:02 PM Aug 01, 2021 | Team Udayavani |
A freedom fighter, actor, social activist Kamaladevi, hailing from Mangaluru had the unique distinction of being the first woman in India to run for political office. She was a strong advocate of Salt Satyagraha and she differed with Gandhi’s decision to exclude women in the march.
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Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay is a freedom fighter, actor, social activist, art enthusiast, politician, and free-thinking feminist all rolled into one. Born on April 3, 1903, into a Saraswat Brahmin family in Mangalore, Kamaladevi was the fourth and youngest daughter of Ananthaya Dhareshwar ( a district collector in South Kanara district of the then-Madras Presidency) and his wife Girijamma.

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She was married at the tender age of 14 and was widowed only two years later.

After finishing her school education in Mangalore, Kamaladevi joined Queen Mary’s College in Madras, where she developed a friendship with Suhasini Chattopadhyay (Sarojini Naidu’s younger sister) who introduced Kamala to their older brother Harindranath. They soon fell in love and got married in the face of much societal opposition.

She performed across India along with her husband, experimented with folk theatre and regional drama, and even acted in silent films.

The couple left for London where Kamaladevi joined Bedford College, University of London, to pursue a diploma course in Sociology. They later parted ways amicably, with their divorce said to mark the very first legal separation granted by the courts of India.

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In 1923, Kamala enrolled herself in the Indian National Congress and joined Seva Dal (a Gandhian organisation that worked towards the social upliftment of the poor).

She had the unique distinction of being the first woman in India to run for political office.

She was a strong advocate of Salt Satyagraha and she differed with Gandhi’s decision to exclude women in the march. Kamaladevi was charged with violation of the salt laws and sentenced to a prison term and at the same time, she was establishing political links outside India.

In 1926, she met the Irish-Indian suffragette Margaret Cousins, who founded the All India Women’s Conference and remained its president until Kamaladevi assumed that role in 1936.

She wrote about 20 books, many of which were inspired by her personal experiences during visits to foreign countries.

Other achievements:

  • She set up some of the first national institutions to archive, protect, and promote Indian dance, drama, art, puppetry, music, and handicrafts.
  • Kamladevi has enacted in Films like Tansen starring K. L. Saigal and Khursheed, followed by Shankar Parvati (1943), and Dhanna Bhagat (1945), starting her film career with the first silent film of Kannada film industry, Mricchakatika (Vasantsena) in 1931.
  • She worked relentlessly for the upliftment of women.
  • She pioneered the cooperative movement which helped raise the socio-economic status of women around the country.
  • As the founding leader of the Indian Cooperative Union (ICU), Kamaladevi took upon the job to resettle nearly 50,000 Pathans from the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) in the wake of the post-Partition migrations.
  • She also set up the Indian National Theatre (INT) in 1944, what we today know as the National School of Drama.

Kamaladevi was honored for her groundbreaking work with the Padma Bhushan in 1955 and with the Padma Vibhushan in 1987. She passed away on October 29, 1988, at the age of 85. On her death, Indian President R. Venkataraman said it is difficult to prefix the word ‘late’ to Kamaladevi’s name, because “hers was, and will always be a palpable presence.”

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