Sarojini Naidu’s birth anniversary and National Women’s Day
National Women’s Day was celebrated on 13 February, along with it Sarojini Naidu’s birth anniversary is also celebrated on this day.
- Sarojini Naidu’s birth anniversary is celebrated as National Women’s Day in India, while International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8 March. Sarojini Naidu was known as Bharatiya Kokila (The Nightingale of India).
Sarojini Naidu:
- . He was born on February 13, 1879 in Hyderabad, India. She was an Indian independence activist, poet and politician.
- The British government honored Sarojini Naidu with the ‘Kaiser-i-Hind’ medal for her outstanding service during the plague epidemic in India.
Contribution to the Indian Independence Movement:
- After the partition of Bengal in the year 1905, she joined the Indian National Movement.
- Sarojini Naidu was elected as the first Indian woman President of the Indian National Congress (INC) in the year 1925 (Kanpur session), and continued in this position till the year 1928.
- In 1930, Naidu was selected by Gandhi to lead the Salt Satyagraha, a non-violent protest against the British monopoly on salt production in India.
- In 1942, Sarojini Naidu was arrested during the “Quit India” movement, and imprisoned for 21 months along with Gandhiji.
- She also represented India at various international forums and spoke about the Indian independence movement and women’s rights.
Contribution as a politician:
- She accompanied Gandhiji to London for the inconclusive second session of the Round Table Conference for Indo-British Cooperation (1931).
- After India gained independence, Naidu was appointed as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, becoming the first woman to hold the post of Governor in India.
Famous poetess:
- Naidu was a noted poetess, and composed both in English and Urdu. ‘In the Bazaars of Hyderabad’, published in the year 1912, is one of his most popular poems.
- His other works include “The Golden Threshold (1905)”, “The Bird of Time (1912)” and “The Broken Wing (1912)”.
Source – Economic Times
