sarojini naidu history

orn:
February
13, 1879
Died: March
2, 1949
Achievements: She was the first Indian woman
to become the President of the Indian National
Congress and the first woman to become the
governor of a state in India.
Sarojini Naidu was a distinguished poet,
renowned freedom fighter and one of the great
orators of her time. She was famously known as
Bharatiya Kokila (The Nightingale of India).
Sarojini Naidu was the first Indian woman to
become the President of the Indian National
Congress and the first woman to become the
governor of a state in India.
Sarojini Naidu was born on February 13, 1879.
Her father Aghoranath Chattopadhyaya was a
scientist and philosopher. He was the founder of
the Nizam College, Hyderabad. Sarojini Naidu's
mother Barada Sundari Devi was a poetess and
used to write poetry in Bengali. Sarojini Naidu
was the eldest among the eight siblings. One of
her brothers Birendranath was a revolutionary
and her other brother Harindranath was a poet,
dramatist, and actor.
Sarojini Naidu was a brilliant student. She was
proficient in Urdu, Telugu, English, Bengali, and
Persian. At the age of twelve, Sarojini Naidu
attained national fame when she topped the
matriculation examination at Madras University.
Her father wanted her to become a
mathematician or scientist but Sarojini Naidu
was interested in poetry. She started writing
poems in English. Impressed by her poetry,
Nizam of Hyderabad, gave her scholarship to
study abroad. At the age of 16, she traveled to
England to study first at King's College London
and later at Girton College, Cambridge. There she
met famous laureates of her time such as Arthur
Simon and Edmond Gausse. It was Gausse who
convinced Sarojini to stick to Indian themes-
India's great mountains, rivers, temples, social
milieu, to express her poetry. She depicted
contemporary Indian life and events. Her
collections "The golden threshold (1905)", "The
bird of time (1912)", and "The broken wing
(1912)" attracted huge Indian and English
readership.
At the age of 15, she met Dr. Govindarajulu Naidu
and fell in love with him. a non-brahmin, and a
doctor by profession. After finishing her studies
at the age of 19, she married him during the
time when inter-caste marriages were not
allowed. It was a revolutionary step but
Sarojini's father fully supported her in her
endeavour. Sarojini Naidu had a happy married
life and had four children: Jayasurya, Padmaj,
Randheer, and Leilamani.
Sarojini Naidu joined the Indian national
movement in the wake of partition of Bengal in
1905. She came into contact with Gopal Krishna
Gokhale, Rabindranath Tagore, Muhammad Ali
Jinnah, Annie Besant, C.P.Rama Swami Iyer,
Gandhiji and Jawaharlal Nehru. She awakened
the women of India. She brought them out of the
kitchen. She traveled from state to state, city
after city and asked for the rights of the women.
She re-established self-esteem within the
women of India.
In 1925, Sarojini Naidu presided over the annual
session of Indian National Congress at Kanpur.
Sarojini Naidu played a leading role during the
Civil Disobedience Movement and was jailed
along with Gandhiji and other leaders. In 1942,
Sarojini Naidu was arrested during the "Quit
India" movement and was jailed for 21 months
with Gandhiji. She shared a very warm
relationship with Gandhiji and used to call him
"Mickey Mouse".
After Independence, Sarojini Naidu became the
Governor of Uttar Pradesh. She was India's first
woman governor. Sarojini Naidu died in office
on March 2 ,1949.