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 named after her.

Family

She was born in an aristocratic Zamindar Karan family. She was the daughter of Choudhury Gopala Ballabha Das and Basant Kumari Devi and the niece of Utkal Gaurab Madhusudan Das. At the age of 15, she married

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 ...

, then a Deputy Collector.. ''Rama Devi Rama Devi along with her husband Gopabandu Choudhury joined the Freedom Movement in 1921''

Role during independence

Together with her husband, she joined the Indian independence movement in 1921. She was highly influenced by

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 ...

and took an active part in Non Cooperation Movement. She used to go from village to village to encourage women to join the independence movement. Others who influenced her were

Jai 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 independence activist. He is mainly remembered for leading th ...

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 ...

and her uncle, Madhusudan Das. In 1921, she had her first meeting with Gandhiji and, together with her husband, joined the Non Cooperation Movement. The same year they joined the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and started wearing

khadi Khadi (, ), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi as Swadeshi movement, ''swadeshi (of homeland)'' for the freedom struggle of India and the term is used throughout the Indian sub ...

. In 1930, she took active part in the Salt Satyagraha movement at Orissa level. She went to Inchudi and Srijang, with other activist like Kiranbala Sen, Maltidevi,

Sarala Devi Sarala Devi (9 August 1904 – 4 October 1986) was an Indian independence activist, feminist, social activist, politician and writer. She was the first Odia woman to join the Non-cooperation movement (1919–22), Non-cooperation movement in 192 ...

, Pranakrushna Padhiari. She and her colleagues were arrested in November 1930 and placed in different jails by the British. She was arrested several times (in 1921, 1930, 1936, 1942) with other women independence activists like Sarala Devi, Malati Choudhury and others and was sent to jail. She attended the 1931 Karachi session of the Indian National Congress and, at that time, requested leaders to hold the next session in Orissa. In 1932 after her release from Hazaribagh jail, she was actively involved in

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 ...

welfare. She stated the ''Asprushyata Nibarana Samiti'' under instructions from Gandhiji, for the eradication of untouchability. The institution was later renamed the ''Harijan Sewa Sangha''. She was closely involved in Gandhiji's 1932 and 1934 visits to Orissa as well as the visits of,

Kasturba 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 ...

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 ...

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independen ...

Maulana Azad Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin (11 November 188822 February 1958), better known as Maulana Azad and sometimes referred as Abul Kalam Azad, was an Indian politician, writer and activist of the Indian independence movement. A senior leader of t ...

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

and others. She started an Ashram at Bari, Orissa which Gandhiji named ''Sewaghar''. During the Quit India Movement of 1942, members of Rama Devi's entire family, including her husband, Gopabandhu Choudhury, were arrested. After the death of

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 ...

, Gandhji assigned her work as the representative of the Orissa chapter of the Kasturba Trust.

Role after independence of India

After the

Independence of India 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 ...

in 1947, Rama Devi dedicated herself to the cause of

Bhoodan 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 ...

and

Gramdan 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 attemp ...

movement of Acharya Vinoba Bhave.. ''In 1952 the Bhoodan and Gramdan movement claimed the services of both Mrs. Rama Devi and her...'' In 1952 she along with her husband she travelled on foot about 4000 kilometres across the state to propagate the message of giving land and wealth to the landless and poor. From 1928, Rama Devi stayed in the Alaka Ashram at Jagatsingpur. She helped set up the Utkal Khadi Mandal and also established a Teachers' Training Centre and Balwadi at Ramchandrapur. In 1950 she set up a Tribal Welfare Centre at Dumburugeda. During the 1951 famine she and Malati worked in famine relief in

Koraput Koraput is a town and a Municipality in Koraput district in the Indian state of Odisha. Koraput town is the district headquarter of Koraput district. History The district of Koraput derives its name from its headquarters in the present town o ...

. She worked to aid soldiers affected by the Indo-Chinese War of 1962. During the Emergency she protested by bringing out her own newspaper along with

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 ...

and Nilamani Routray.Freedom Struggle and Rama Devi
Orissa Review April 2006 The Gram Sevak Press, was banned by the government and was arrested along with other leaders from Orissa like

Nabakrushna Choudhury 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, Manmohan Chowdhury, Smt. Annapurna Moharana, Jaykrushana Mohanty, and others. She established a primary school, ''Shishu Vihar'' and a cancer hospital at

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 ...

Honours

In recognition of her services to the nation, Ramadevi was awarded the

Jamnalal Bajaj Award Jamnalal Bajaj Award is an Indian award, for promoting Gandhian values, community service and social development. Established in 1978, by the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation of Bajaj Group, it is given annually in four categories, and usually pres ...

. ''JAMNALAL BAJAJ AWARDS, 1981 The Jamnalal Bajaj Awards are given every year for outstanding contributions in any one or more ... Award III was awarded to Smt. Ramadevi Gopabandhu Choudhuri ofCuttackfor her outstanding contribution to the ...'' on 4 November 1981 and the Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris causa) by

Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. The university was established in 1943 and was operating from Ravenshaw College ...

on 16 April 1984.

Memorials

Rama Devi Women's University at

Bhubaneshwar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra Khetra'' and ''Ekamra Khetra'' ( ...

is named in her memory. It is the first women's university in eastern India, established as such since 2015. There is a museum dedicated to her within the university premises. The school – Shishu Vihar – started by her at

is now named Ramadevi Shishu Vihar.rmss
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Death

She died on 22 July 1985 at the age of 85.

References

External links