Annapurna Maharana (née Choudhury 3 November 1917 – 31 December 2012) was an

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

pro-independence activist active in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

. She was also a prominent social and

women's rights activist Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

. Maharana was a close ally of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

Personal Life

Annapurna was born in

Orissa Province Orissa Province was a province of British India created in April 1936 by the partitioning of the Bihar and Orissa Province and adding parts of Madras Presidency and Central Provinces. Its territory corresponds with the present-day state of Odi ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(now

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

, India) on 3 November 1917 in an aristocratic Zamindar Karan family, the second child of

Ramadevi Choudhury Ramadevi Choudhury (3 December 1899 – 22 July 1985), also known as Rama Devi, was an Indian freedom fighter and a social reformer. She was called Maa (Mother) by the people of Odisha. The Ramadevi Women's University in Bhubaneswar has been n ...

and

Gopabandhu Choudhury Gopabandhu Choudhuri (also spelled Gopabandhu Choudhury; 8 May 1895 – 29 April 1958) was an Indian activist, social worker and freedom fighter. He participated in the Non-cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience movement. Early life Gopaba ...

. Both of her parents were active in the Indian independence movement from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Role during independence

Annapurna began actively campaigning for independence when she was fourteen years old, becoming a supporter of

Mohandas Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

. In 1934, she joined Gandhi on his "Harijan Pada Yatra" march through Odisha from

Puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...

Bhadrak Bhadrak is a city of Odisha state in eastern India. The city is the district headquarters of Bhadrak district. According to legend, the city derives its name from the Goddess Bhadrakali, whose temple is on the banks of the Salandi River. Hi ...

. Choudhury was arrested several times by British and

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, including August 1942 during the Quit India Movement

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

campaign. Following independence, Annapurna advocated on behalf of women and children in India. She opened a school in Odisha's

Rayagada district Rayagada district is a district in the southern Odisha States and union territories of India, state in India. Rayagada became a separate district in October 1992. Its population consists mainly of Adivasi, tribes, primarily the Khonds and t ...

for the children of the area's tribal population. Annapurna also became involved with the

Bhoodan movement The Bhoodan movement (Land Gift movement), also known as the Bloodless Revolution, was a voluntary land reform movement in India. It was initiated by Gandhian Vinoba Bhave in 1951 at Pochampally village, Pochampally. The Bhoodan movement attem ...

, or Land Gift Movement, started by

Vinoba Bhave Vinayak Narahar Bhave, also known as Vinoba Bhave (; 11 September 1895 – 15 November 1982), was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. Often called ''Acharya'' (Teacher in Sanskrit), he is best known for the Bhoodan Movement. He ...

. She further campaigned to integrate the

Dacoits Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word डाकू (ḍākū); "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with the meaning "a robber belonging to an armed ...

active of the Chambal Valley. During the emergency she protested by helping

with their newspaper published by the Gram Sevak Press. The newspaper was banned by the government and was arrested along with

and other leaders from Orissa like

Nabakrushna Choudhuri Nabakrushna Choudhury (also spelled Nabakrushna Choudhuri; 23 November 1901 – 24 June 1984) was an Indian politician and activist. He served as Chief Minister of the Indian state of Odisha. He was a freedom fighter who participated in the N ...

Harekrushna Mahatab Harekrushna Mahatab (born Harekrushna Das, 21 November 1899 – 2 January 1987) was the leader of the Indian National Congress, a notable figure in the Indian independence movement and the Chief Minister of Odisha from 1946 to 1950 and from 1956 ...

, Manmohan Choudhury, Jaykrushana Mohanty and others.Orissa: the dazzle from within (art, craft and culture of ...by G. K. Ghosh - 1993 - - Page 37 The

Central University of Odisha Central University of Odisha (CUO), formerly Central University of Orissa, was established by parliament under the Central Universities Act, 2009 (No. 3C of 2009) by Government of India, situated at Sunabeda Town, Koraput District in the Indian st ...

awarded Annapurna Choudhury an

Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

(

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

) in a ceremony held at her Cuttack home on 19 August 2012.

Death

Annapurna Choudhury died of lengthy illnesses related to old age, at her home in Bakharabad,

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka in Odia language, Odia ), is the former capital, deputy capital and the 2nd largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised f ...

, Odisha, at 10:30 p.m. on 31 December 2012, aged 96. Her late husband, Sarat Maharana, died in 2009. She was cremated with honors at the Khannagar crematorium in Cuttack on 2 January 2013.

Governor of Odisha The Governor of Odisha is the head of the Indian state of Odisha. The Governor (India), governors have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of the president of India at central level. They exist in the States of India, state ...

Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare (10 December 1928 – 15 June 2024) was an Indian politician. He was a senior Indian National Congress leader from Maharashtra and a Rajya Sabha member for three terms during 1980–1982, 1982–1988 and 1988–19 ...

and

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

Naveen Patnaik Naveen Patnaik (; born 16 October 1946) is an Indian politician and writer, who served as the 14th List of Chief Ministers of Odisha, Chief Minister of Odisha from 5 March 2000 to 12 June 2024. His 24-year reign is the List of longest-serving I ...

described her death as "irreparable loss" to India and Odisha.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maharana, Annapurna 1917 births 2012 deaths Indian independence activists from Odisha Indian women's rights activists People from Cuttack Women educators from Odisha Indian people imprisoned during the Emergency (India) Prisoners and detainees of British India Indian reformers Women Indian independence activists Indian women publishers Indian publishers (people) 20th-century Indian journalists 20th-century Indian women writers Indian women journalists 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian journalists Indian newspaper journalists Women writers from Odisha Journalists from Odisha Educators from Odisha Recipients of the Utkal Ratna Samman