Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay: Freedom Fighter and Cultural Guardian

In ancient India, women were not treated as equal compared to men. They just framed that women are there in their lives only for marital purposes and to do the household chores. But, modern Indian women are creating so many improvements for the development of India and its Government. Not a single industry runs without the involvement of women nowadays. These involvements of women in the respective fields considerably give more chances for their success. Likewise, here we are going to look at the one strong Indian female Freedom Fighter.

Personal life of Kamaladevi:

Kamaladevi was born on 3rd April 1903 in Mangalore, Karnataka. She belongs to the orthodox Saraswat Brahmin Family. She was the youngest daughter along with her three siblings. Her father was Ananthayya Dhareshwar and her mother, Girijabai. Her father was the District Collector of Mangalore and he died very soon during Kamala’s childhood. So, she grew up with her mother and paternal grandmother. Kamaladevi’s grandmother was well-versed in the Ancient Histories and the Puranas. Her mother was also well educated by home tutoring and was very intelligent. Surrounded by these ladies and their intelligence, Kamaladevi started to get encouraged to be educated well. This family also befriended notable freedom fighters like Gopala Krishna Gokhale, Mahadev Govind Ranade, and Women leaders like Ramabai Ranade and Annie Besant. In touch with these leaders, Kamala Devi got inspired to draw her in the freedom movements and grow up all patriotic. 

Though her family was very well educated, because of her orthodox community tradition Kamaladevi was married at the age of 14 to Krishna Rao in 1917. Unfortunately, she was widowed after two years of her marriage. While studying at Queen Mary’s College in Chennai, she befriended Suhashini Chattopadhyay; who is the sister of Sarojini Naidu, and in her 20th age, she got married to Suhashini’s brother Harindranath Chattopadhyay. This is the first ever Widow Remarriage in the Saraswat Brahmin Community. She had a son, Ramakrishna Chattopadhyay. After some years, the couple were divorced. Kamaladevi died on 29th October 1988.

Education:

After her first failed marriage, Kamaladevi came to Madras (present day Chennai) and continued her degree. She joined Queen Mary’s College in Chennai. Soon after her marriage with Harindranath, they moved to London. There she pursued her Diploma in Sociology at Bedford College, University of London. 

Kamaladevi’s participation in Indian Freedom Movements:

In 1923, Kamaladevi came to know about Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation movement while she was in London. Shortly, she came to India to participate in those movements. She joined a Gandian Organisation called Seva Dal to promote Social Upliftment. Because of her hard work in this organization, she got promoted to the Head of the Women’s section of Seva Dal. In that organization, she hired and trained girls and women across India, to volunteer work during the freedom movements. In 1926, she also became the first woman to run for a Legislative Assembly seat in the Madras Province. But, she lost by a small margin of 55 votes. 

In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi started the movement called Salt Satyagraha as a part of the freedom movement in India. During that movement, women were not allowed to participate in Salt Satyagraha, it was Kamaladevi who fought against this and gained the support from Gandhi. Later, she became a part of the Seven-member lead team to participate in the Salt Satyagraha. She gained all over the median attention in the struggle to protect the Indian tricolour flag.

In 1941, during World War II, Kamaladevi who was in England began her world tour to represent India’s situation about the freedom movements and the British colonialisation. It makes her gain some support from other nations for the independence of India. 

The independence of India brought the Partition inside the country. Because of this act, many people became refugees. Kamaladevi with the help and support of Jawaharlal Nehru formed those people in groups accordingly and made them to be comfortable. She also helped those refugees to set up their new homes and professions. They also got new training and skills. She also helped them to set up health facilities in the new place. 

Kamaladevi’s hand in other industries:

Kamaladevi became a founding member of the All India Women’s Conference. She was the first Organizing Secretary. Later, this Women’s organization grew wild and its allegiance spread all over the world. During her tenure, Kamaladevi traveled to many European nations. There she got inspired and started many social reform organizations, Welfare programs, and some educational institutions. With all these efforts, now we have Lady Irwin College for Home Science in New Delhi. 

Post-Independence of India brought many changes and the Prime Minister of the 1950s; Jawaharlal Nehru brought many changes to the development of the country. He introduced the Western machinery-based factory for mass production. This affected the traditional Artisans, especially women whose livelihood depended on them. So Kamaladevi set up a series of Crafts museums to safeguard the ancient art and cultural Handicrafts. In this act, she also included the Theatre Craft Museum in Delhi and instituted the National Award for Master Craftsmen. She also set up the Central Cottage Industries Emporium all around the nation to promote and bystand the Indian ancient possessions. Kamaladevi was the first Chairperson of the All India Handicrafts Board that she set up. 

In 1964, Kamaladevi started the Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography in Bangalore under the protection of Bharatiya Natya Sangh which was affiliated to UNESCO. Kamaladevi was also headed the Sangeet Natak Akademi and was also a Member of UNESCO.

During that period, women from certain families and communities were not allowed to act in movies. But, Kamaladevi broke that instinct and acted in a few movies. She acted in two silent films: Mricchakatika, also the first silent film in Kannada in 1931 and another one in Hindi: Tansen in 1943.  Followed by some films are Shankar Parvati in 1943 and Bhagat in 1945. She was also once became the chairperson of the National School of Drama.

Kamaladevi was also a prolific writer. Her books were mostly about the freedom movements, women’s empowerment, arts, crafts, and culture. Kamaladevi also published her Autobiography: Inner Recesses and Outer Spaces: Memoir in 1986. 

Legacy of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay:

The Government of India awarded her the Padma Bhushan in 1955 and Padma Vibhushan in 1987, the highest civilian award in India. She was also awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1966 for community leadership. To praise her lifetime achievements in the protection and support of art, crafts, and culture, Sangeet Natak Akademi awarded her Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1974. UNESCO also honored her with an award for her dedication to the handicrafts.