Mithuben Hormusji Petit (11 April 1892 – 16 July 1973) was an Indian independence activist who participated in

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 ...

's Dandi March. A pioneer female independence activist, she was the Secretary of the Rashtriya Stree Sabha, a women's movement founded on

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi,one of the prominent figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environ ...

ideals. She became a recipient of India’s fourth highest-civilian honour,

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 1961, for her social work.

Family and background

Born on 11 April 1892 into an affluent

Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, Petit's father was one of the sons of Sir

Dinshaw Maneckji Petit Sir Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, 1st Baronet (30 June 18235 May 1901) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist who founded the first textile mills in India. He was part of the Petit family and became the first Petit baronet. He founded the "P ...

, a well-known industrialist, philanthropist, and

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

. Mithuben was the niece of industrialist Bomanjee Dinshaw Petit and cousin of Jehangir Bomanji Petit and

Rattanbai Petit Rattanbai Jinnah ( Petit, also known as Maryam Jinnah; 20 February 1900 – 20 February 1929), informally known as Ruttie, was the wife of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, an important figure in the creation of Pakistan and the country's founder. Petit b ...

. Petit studied at Convent of Jesus and Mary,

Colaba Colaba (; or ISO 15919, ISO: Kolābā) is a part of the city of Mumbai, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai while the other three are Worli, Bandra and Malabar Hill. During the Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was ...

. Her activism was met with challenges by the Petit family, who urged her to renounce her activism or risk disinheritance, to which she refused and responded: "It is your business to sit with the government and mine to remain with the nation.".

Career

Indian independence movement

Petit was influenced by her aunt, Jaiji Jehangir Petit, who was a follower of

and was the Secretary of the Rashtriya Stree Sabha, a women's movement founded on Gandhian ideals. She was active in the relief work during the floods of Gujarat in 1927, along with Ratanbahen Mehta and Bhaktiba Desai. During Bardoli Satyagraha in 1928, she moved from village to village to create awareness among the women. She took part in Borsad Satyagraha in 1929 and stayed at the camp. Petit, along with

Kasturba Gandhi 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 during British Raj, British India. She was married to Mohandas ...

and

Sarojini Naidu Sarojini Naidu (Birth name, née Chattopadhyay) (; 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949) was an Indian political activist and poet who served as the first Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Governor of United Provinces, after Independence Day (India), Indi ...

, played a major part in the

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 ...

, with Kasturba Gandhi beginning the march at Sabarmati, Sarojini Naidu lifting the salt for the first time at Dandi on 6 April 1930 and Petit standing behind Mahatma Gandhi when he repeated the violation at Bhimrad on 9 April 1930. The march was one of the most important events in the Indian independence movement. In a time when women were forced to take a back seat (due to the patriarchal culture at that time in India) Petit was one of the three women who played a pivotal role in the march and the

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 ...

against tax on salt. Petit participated in the Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928 which was a no enhancement campaign against the

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 ...

where she worked under the guidance of

Sardar Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ''Vallabhbhāī Jhāverbhāī Paṭel''; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was an Indian independence activist and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime ...

. Petit was instrumental in the anti-liquor movement in India and spent time with Mahatma Gandhi and explained the liquor issue with the schedule tribes in

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 ...

Social work

Petit set up an

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' (< Maroli called ''Kasturba Vanat Shala'' or Kasturba Sevashram in 1930, which taught underprivileged children from families of

Adivasi The Adivasi (also transliterated as Adibasi) are heterogeneous tribal groups across the Indian subcontinent. The term is a recent invention from the 20th century and is now widely used as a self-designation by groups classified as Scheduled Tr ...

Harijan Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

s and fisher folk spinning, carding, weaving, dairy farming, leather-work and a Diploma Course in Sewing, to make the women self-sufficient. Petit, known as "Maiji" (mother) also opened a hospital of the same name for the scientific treatment of mentally ill patients in 1942.

Death

She died on 16 July 1973, at

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

Recognition

Petit received the

in 1961 for her social work.

References

External links

Kasturba Sevashram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petit, Mithuben Women Indian independence activists 1892 births 1973 deaths Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work Parsi people from Mumbai Gandhians Social workers from Maharashtra Women educators from Maharashtra Educators from Maharashtra Indian independence activists from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian educational theorists Women in Maharashtra politics 20th-century Indian politicians 20th-century Indian women politicians Salt March 20th-century Indian women educational theorists Mithuben