Sushila Chain Trehan (1 July 1923 – 28 September 2011) was a freedom fighter and women activist. She worked towards educating and liberating the women of Punjab until her death.
Early life
Trehan was born in
Pathankot
Pathankot is a city and the district headquarters of the Pathankot district in Punjab, India. Pathankot is the 6th most populous city of Punjab, after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda. Its local government is a municipa ...
and was the youngest of four siblings. Her father Mathuradas Trehen, was a contractor and one of the founder members of
Congress Party in his area and also a leading member of
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the san ...
.
Trehan was also a leader of the East Punjab Istri Sabha.
Trehan lost her father under mysterious circumstances and the family lost their source of income and wealth.
Trehan married Chain Singh Chain who was a founder member of Kiry Party.
Career as activist
Trehan joined the Arya Samaj as a teenager when while attending an opening meeting the attendees were surrounded by police and beaten up. Trehan at that age, decided to fight against injustice.
Trehan became a political activist and moved to the communist party headquarter in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...
in 1941.
That time she was working along
Bibi Raghbir Kaur who was a
Kirti-Ghadar Party member of Punjab State Legislative assembly. By this time, Trehan had left home and joined
Shakuntala Azad to join the freedom fighters against the capitalist system Indian society was under.
Trehan later joined the Kirty Party after much opposition. She proved her mettle by tolerating torture and lathi charges against injustice by the then British Raj police.
Social Work
Trehan traveled the remote villages of Punjab to encourage women to cook, sew and clean. This was to promote the belief of being self dependent in times where women were not given enough support to be independent.
After India's independence, Trehan continued to promote education for children and opened three girls' schools and one co-education.
Trehan was the first ever woman panch of her village panchayat council in Daduwal. Until her death in 2011, she tackled the social problems at the grassroots level – dowry, domestic violence, casteism and inter-caste marriage.
Personal life
Chain and Trehan ran and hid from one location to other for the causes they believed in. They lost three of their children and their only surviving daughter Savita was left to be brought up by relatives.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trehan, Sushila Chain
1923 births
2011 deaths
People from Pathankot district
Arya Samajis
Indian feminists