Kasturba Mohandas Gandhi (, born Kasturba Gokuldas Kapadia; 11 April 1869 – 22 February 1944) was an Indian political activist who was involved 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 ...

during

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 ...

. She was married to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, commonly known as

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 ...

. ''National Safe Motherhood Day'' is observed in India annually on April 11, coinciding with Kasturba's birthday.

Early life and background

Kasturba was born on 11 April 1869 to Gokuladas Kapadia and Vrajkunwerba Kapadia. The family belonged to the Modh Bania caste of Gujarati

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

tradesmen and were based in the coastal town of

Porbandar Porbandar is a city and the headquarters of Porbandar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It was the former capital of the Porbandar State, Porbandar princely state. Porbandar and Chhaya, ...

. In May 1883, 14-year-old Kasturba was married to 13-year-old Mohandas in a marriage arranged by their parents. Recalling the day of their marriage, her husband once said, ''"As we didn't know much about marriage, for us it meant only wearing new clothes, eating sweets and playing with relatives."'' However, as was prevailing tradition, the adolescent bride was to spend the first few years of marriage at her parents' house, and away from her husband.Gandhi (1940). . Writing many years later, Mohandas described with regret the lustful feelings he felt for his young bride, ''"even at school I used to think of her, and the thought of nightfall and our subsequent meeting was ever haunting me."'' At the beginning of their marriage, Mohandas was also possessive and manipulative; he wanted the ideal wife who would follow his command. Kasturba became pregnant at the age of 17. The first child was born prematurely and did not survive the first year. Although their other four sons survived to adulthood, Kasturba never fully recovered from the death of her first child. Mohandas decided to go to London to study and departed in 1888, soon after their second child was born, a son named Harilal. Kasturba remained in

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 ...

. Mohandas returned from London in 1891, and in 1892 Kasturba gave birth to another son, Manilal. Unable to find a successful career in India, Mohandas left for South Africa in 1893, once again leaving behind Kasturba and his children. In 1896 the family joined Mohandas in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

In 1906, Mohandas took a vow of chastity, or brahamacharya. Some reports indicated that Kasturba felt that this opposed her role as a traditional

wife. However, Kasturba quickly defended her marriage when a woman suggested she was unhappy. Kasturba's relatives also insisted that the greatest good was to remain and obey her husband, the Mahatma.

Ramachandra Guha Ramachandra "Ram" Guha (born 29 April 1958) is an Indian historian, environmentalist, writer and public intellectual whose research interests include social, political, contemporary, environmental and cricket history. He is an important autho ...

's biography '' Gandhi Before India'' described the marriage, saying, "They had, in the emotional as well as sexual sense, always been true to one another. Perhaps because of their periodic, extended separations, Kasturba deeply cherished their time together."

Political career

Kasturba first involved herself with politics in South Africa in 1904 when, with her husband and others, she established the Phoenix Settlement near

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

. In 1913 she took part in protests against the ill-treatment of Indian immigrants in South Africa, for which she was arrested and sentenced to hard labour. While in prison, she led other women in prayer and encouraged the educated women to teach the uneducated women how to read and write. The Gandhis left South Africa in July 1914 and returned to live in India. In spite of Kasturba’s

chronic bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

she continued to take part in civil actions and protests across India and often took her husband's spot when he was in prison. The majority of her time was dedicated to serving in

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Here, Kasturba was referred to as "Ba" or Mother, because she served as mother of the ashrams in India. A point of difference between Kasturba and Mohandas was the treatment of their children in their ashram. Mohandas believed that their sons did not deserve special treatment, while Kasturba felt that Mohandas neglected them. In 1917, Kasturba worked for women's welfare in Champaran,

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

where Mohandas was working with

indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

farmers. She taught women hygiene, discipline, health, reading and writing. In 1922, she participated in a ''

Satyagraha Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...

'' (nonviolent resistance) movement in Borsad,

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

even though she was in poor health. She did not take part in her husband's famous

Salt March The Salt march, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of Non violence, non violent civil disobedience in British Raj, colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 24-day march lasted from 12 March 19 ...

in 1930, but continued to take part in many civil disobedience campaigns and marches. As a result, she was arrested and jailed on numerous occasions. In 1939, Kasturba took part in nonviolent protests against the British rule in

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...

, after the women in the city specifically asked her to advocate for them. Kasturba was arrested once again, and kept in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

for a month. Her health worsened but she continued to fight for independence. In 1942, she was arrested again, along with Mohandas and other freedom fighters, for participating in the Quit India movement. She was imprisoned in the Aga Khan Palace in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

. By this time her health had severely deteriorated and she died at the detention camp in Pune. Mohandas wrote of his wife in terms which showed that he expected obedience from her. "According to my earlier experience, she was very obstinate. In spite of all my pressure she would do as she wished. This led to short or long periods of estrangement between us. But as my public life expanded, my wife bloomed forth and deliberately lost herself in my work."

Health and death

Kasturba suffered from chronic

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

due to complications at birth. Her bronchitis was complicated by

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. In January 1908 she fasted while her husband was in prison, and she became gravely ill. She came so close to death that Mohandas apologised to her, and promised he would not remarry if she died. Kasturba would later undergo a major surgery. In January 1944, Kasturba suffered two heart attacks, after which she was confined to her bed much of the time. Even there she found no respite from pain. Spells of breathlessness interfered with her sleep at night. She asked to see an Ayurvedic doctor, and after several delays, the government allowed a specialist in traditional Indian medicine to attend to her. At first she responded well, recovering enough by the second week in February to sit on the veranda in a wheelchair for short periods and talk with him. Later she suffered a relapse. Her son Devdas ordered

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of beta-lactam antibiotic, β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' Mold (fungus), moulds, principally ''Penicillium chrysogenum, P. chrysogenum'' and ''Penicillium rubens, P. ru ...

, but her doctors did not want to use it because the final failure of her kidneys could not be relieved by penicillin. The doctors informed the Gandhi family that the condition of Kasturba had already deteriorated enough that penicillin would not be helpful. She died at the Aga Khan Palace in

, at 7:35 PM local time on 22 February 1944, aged 74. The Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust Fund was set up in her memory. Mohandas requested that this fund be used to help women and children in villages in India. Kasturba and Mahatma Gandhi 1969 stamp of India

Kasturba and Mahatma Gandhi 1969 stamp of India

Legacy

Many institutions, roads, and cities are named after Kasturba Gandhi: * Kasturba Gandhi College for Women * Kasturba Hospital (Wardha) * Kasturba Vaidyakiya Rahat Mandal (Kasturba Hospital, Valsad, Gujarat) Since 1944 * Kasturba Medical College, Manipal * Kasturba Nagar railway station *

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya or KGBV is a residential girls’ secondary school run by the Government of India for the weaker sections in India. History The plan was introduced by the Government of India in August 2004. It was then integr ...

* Kasturba Nagar (Delhi Assembly constituency) * Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust * Kasturba Health Society * Kasturba Nagar, Chennai * Kasturba Nagar, Puducherry * Kasturba College for Women, Villianur, Puducherry * Kasturba Road * Kasturba Gandhi Marg,

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. * Kasturba Nagar,

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

. * Kasturba Nagar,

Bhopal Bhopal (; ISO 15919, ISO: Bhōpāl, ) is the capital (political), capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes,'' due to ...

. * Kasturba Gandhi Primary School,

Durban, South Africa Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South Africa, on the Natal Bay o ...

In popular culture

Narayan Desai wrote a play, ''Kasturba'', based on Kasturba Gandhi. It was directed by Aditi Desai and was staged several times. In the 1982 film ''

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 ...

'', the role of Kasturba Gandhi was played by Rohini Hattangadi.

Footnotes

References

External links

Gandhi and Kasturba
*Get to know abou

(हिन्दी) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gandhi, Kasturba 1869 births 1944 deaths Indian pacifists Indian independence activists from Gujarat Gujarati people Indian rebels Hindu pacifists Kasturba Gandhians People from Porbandar Deaths from pneumonia in India Deaths from bronchopneumonia Indian emigrants to South Africa 19th-century Indian women 19th-century Indian people 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian people Women Indian independence activists Women from Gujarat Colony of Natal people Prisoners and detainees of British India