Niruben Patel
Born in 1926, Niruben Patel abandoned her school at the call of Gandhiji, to later rejoin. She went on to complete her MA from Elphinston College, Bombay.
Born in 1926, Niruben Patel abandoned her school at the call of Gandhiji, to later rejoin. She went on to complete her MA from Elphinston College, Bombay. She became a member of the Communist Party, leading the movement against the raise in sales by the Saurashtra Government, as well as against the ‘betterment levy’ which infuriated the peasantry. The Saurashtra Government had issued a ‘permanent arrest warrant’ against her, but she could not be arrested. Known as the ‘Lioness of Saurashtra’, she would appear at mass meetings, address them, and disappear right under the nose of the police! The Saurashtra peasantry was able to get the ‘betterment tax’ withdrawn. Niruben took part in the movement for linguistic states and for the liberation of Goa, Diu and Daman from Portuguese rule, for which she was arrested. In 1968, she became Gujarat’s first elected woman mayor, in Bhavnagar. She was arrested under MISA during the Railway Workers’ Strike of 1974.
Recipient of the Lenin Prize for Peace and the Bharat Ratna, Aruna Asaf Ali was Delhi’s first Mayor. Born in 1909 in Kalka (now Haryana) in an orthodox Hindu Bengali family, she was educated in…
Amiya Dutta came from a poor family in Bikrampur in Dhaka district (now Bangladesh). Was married off while still in her early teens. Amiya was deeply influenced by the underground activities of…
Ahilya came from a family influenced by the values of the social reform and all the four daughters and daughter-in-law completed their graduation. On 8th August 1942, in response to the declaration…
Born in 1914 to S. Swaminadhan, lawyer and A.V Ammukutty, social worker and freedom fighter, Lakshmi was involved in the freedom struggle from an early age. she campaigned for temple entry for…
The cowardly, brutal killing of Gauri Lankesh has led to waves of spontaneous protests in different corners of India. Gauri was a voice of honesty and courage, she challenged the status quo in…
