Hemalatha Lavanam
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Hemalatha Lavanam (26 February 1932 – 19 March 2008) was an Indian social reformer, writer, and atheist who protested against
untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...
and the
caste system A caste is a fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (endogamy), foll ...
. She was also a co-founder of 'Samskar' with her husband,
Lavanam Goparaju Ramachandra Lavanam (10 October 1930 – 14 August 2015), known popularly as G. Lavanam or Lavanam, was an Indian social reformer and Gandhian. He worked to remove untouchability in Indian society. He was an atheist and co-founded the ...
.


Early life

Hemalatha was born on 26 February 1932 at
Vinukonda Vinukonda is a town in Palnadu district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Vinukonda mandal and administered under Narasaraopet revenue division. Etymology The town was formerly known as ''Vish ...
in
Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...
of
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 in the
Guntur District Guntur district is one of the twenty six districts in the Coastal Andhra region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is located at Guntur, the List of urban agglom ...
of
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
,
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 ...
. She was the daughter of
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
poet Gurram Joshua and Maryamma.


Personal life

She married
Lavanam Goparaju Ramachandra Lavanam (10 October 1930 – 14 August 2015), known popularly as G. Lavanam or Lavanam, was an Indian social reformer and Gandhian. He worked to remove untouchability in Indian society. He was an atheist and co-founded the ...
in 1960 and became the daughter-in-law of social reformer
Goparaju Ramachandra Rao Goparaju Ramachandra Rao (15 November 1902 – 26 July 1975), popularly known as Gora, was an Indian social reformer, atheist activist and a participant in the Indian independence movement. He authored many books on atheism and proposed atheism ...
and Saraswathi Gora, who were atheist social reformers and founders of the
Atheist Centre The Atheist Centre is an institution founded by Goparaju Ramachandra Rao (aka Gora, 1902–1975) and Saraswathi Gora (1912–2006) to initiate social change in rural Andhra Pradesh based on the ideology of Gandhism and atheism. Founded in 1940 ...
in
Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...
.


Reformation of denotified tribes

Through Samskar, Lavanam and Hemlatha took part in historical surrenders of
dacoit 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 ...
s in Chambal Valley to
Vinobha 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. H ...
.
Jaya Prakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan Srivastava (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), also known as JP and ''Lok Nayak'' (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian politician, theorist and Indian independence activist, independence activist. He is mai ...
inspired the couple to work on criminal rehabilitation. Hemlatha, Lavanam and volunteers from atheist centre participated actively in criminal reformation and rehabilitation in 1974 in the areas of erstwhile criminal settlements Sitanagaram, Stuartpuram, Kawali, and Kapparallathippa in Andhra Pradesh. They devoted their time to bring change in the mindset of criminal tribal shelter helped to provide alternative livelihood to criminal rehabilitated families. Hemalatha and Lavanam demanded government of Andhra Pradesh to abolish settlements. Due to their efforts, the state government took a step in abolishing the managements and declaring them as free colonies in 1976. They visited the prisoners of Stuartpuram and kept constant contact through letters. The families of settlers visited Atheist center for advice. This contact changed some hardened criminals. They motivated the criminals to change from crime culture.


Work on Jogini

Hemalatha and Lavanam worked on upliftment and eradication of
Jogini A yogini (Sanskrit: योगिनी, IAST: ) is a female master practitioner of tantra and yoga, as well as a formal term of respect for female Hindu or Buddhist spiritual teachers in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Greater Tibet ...
s in Nizamabad district through Samskar. Her work made the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, film editor, philanthropist, and politician who served as the Chief Minister o ...
Government enact legislation in 1988 to eradicate the Jogini system, Kumud Ben Joshi,
C. Rangarajan Chakravarthi Rangarajan (born 1932) is an Indian economist, a former Member of Parliament and 19th governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He is the former chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council; he resigned the day the UPA ...
as Governor of Andhra pradesh oversaw the marriages for joginis in Rajbhavan, Hyderabad. Samskar founded Chelli Nilyam Sister's Home in
varni Varni is a town in Nizamabad district in the Indian state of Telangana. Varni Mandal Headquarters is Varni. Geography Varni is located at . It has an average elevation of 403 metres. It comes under Banswada Legislative and Zaheerabad Parl ...
of
Nizamabad district Nizamabad district, also known as Induru district, is a district located in the north-western region of the Indian state of Telangana. The city of Nizamabad is the district headquarters. The district share boundaries with Jagtial, Sircilla, N ...
.


Joshua Foundation

The Joshua Foundation instituted the Joshua Sahitya Puraskaram, a national award for poets of any language who had enriched Indian literature with human values. The rationale was to promote national integration and encourage purposeful poetry.


Awards and recognition

Hemalatha received her doctorate in social work from
Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University Suravaram Pratap Reddy Telugu University (SPTU), formerly Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University (PSTU), is a public state university in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is one of the few Indian language universities in India. University It was e ...
in
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
. The National Book Trust of India published a biography of her in the National Biography series, written by Vakulabharanam Lalitha and Kompalli Sundar. K. Viyanna Rao, the Vice-Chancellor of
Acharya Nagarjuna University Acharya Nagarjuna University (IAST: ''Ācārya Nāgārjuna Vișvavidyālaya'') is a state university in Namburu, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. History The university was established as Nagarjuna University by Act 43 of 1976 of A. ...
, released the book and presented the first copy to her husband, Lavanam. In 2003 she received a Red and White Bravery Award from
Surjit Singh Barnala Surjit Singh Barnala (21 October 1925 – 14 January 2017) was an Indian politician who served as the 11th chief minister of Punjab state from 1985 to 1987. Following that he served as the governor of Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Andhra Prades ...
, the Governor of
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
, for her contribution to the field of social work.


Death

Hemalatha suffered from ovarian cancer and died at the Atheist Centre, Vijayawada, on 19 March 2008. She was cremated without any religious rites.


In popular culture

She was portrayed by
Renu Desai Renu Desai is an Indian actress, stylist, director, producer and former model known for her works in Telugu cinema. Personal life Renu Desai was born in Pune to a Gujarati father and a Marwari mother, and speaks Marathi at home. She has a son, ...
in 2023 Telugu film
Tiger Nageswara Rao ''Tiger Nageswara Rao'' is a 2023 Indian action film written and directed by Vamsee and produced by Abhishek Agarwal. The film stars Ravi Teja in the title role alongside Anupam Kher, Jisshu Sengupta, Nupur Sanon (in her film debut), Renu Desa ...
.


References


External links


Her Will: Devadasi Culture In South India"

'Evolution of Voluntary Sector in Modern Andhra: Past and Present- Sundar Kompalli, Ph D (HCU)'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavanam, Hemalatha Indian atheists Indian sceptics Telugu people Activists from Andhra Pradesh Indian social reformers 1932 births 2008 deaths Indian women activists People from Guntur district Women educators from Andhra Pradesh Educators from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian women educational theorists 20th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian women educators 20th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian women